2014 Analyst and Investor Survey: Trends in the Use of Digital & Social Media by the Investment Community Abu Dhabi Beijing Berlin Brussels Dallas Dubai Frankfurt Hong Kong Johannesburg London Milan Munich New York Paris Rome San Francisco Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Stockholm Vienna Washington, D.C.
Executive summary 1 2 3 Investors consumption of digital media for investment research continues to rise 59% Read blogs for work +7 Online engagement is increasingly driving investment decisions 58% +1 Investigated an issue after reading a blog 26% +2 Use social networks for work 27% 30% Use micro-blogging services for work +3 then made an investment decision based on a mosaic constructed around that blog post Twitter influence continues to expand, but its growth may be under-reported due to recent inclusion on other platforms, like Bloomberg, which also jumped in importance 1 in 7 Investors made an investment decision based on a mosaic constructed around a tweet 36% Investors in US who said real-time subscription services became more important this year BRUNSWICK 2014 1
Ranking of various information sources
Importance of information sources Information direct from companies remained the highest ranked resource for investment decisions (based on a scale from 1 to 7) Top information sources Top Information Sources in 2014 Information direct from companies 1.9 Real time subscription information 3.3 sources Analyst research* 3.5 Primary market research 3.9 Online business media 4.5 Print business media 5.3 Digital media 5.8 Average Rank 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0 Trends by year* 2,0 2,0 1,9 3,0 3,4 3,3 3,7 3,6 3,9 3,9 4,1 4,5 4,5 5,0 5,1 5,3 5,8 5,8 6,1 2010 2012 2014 Information direct from companies Real time subscription information sources Analyst research* Primary market research Online business media Print business media Digital media Reported by mean of rankings Q4. Please rank the following information sources by how much they influence your investment decisions or recommendations? * Indicates sell side and industry analyst research for buy-side analysts; indicates industry analyst research for sell-side analysts BRUNSWICK 2014 3
Importance of information sources (Average rank, lower figures mean they are more influential) USA Europe Asia Information direct from companies 1,8 2,1 2,1 2,0 2,0 2,0 1,8 2,1 Real time subscription information sources 3,3 3,4 3,0 3,0 3,1 3,0 4,0 Primary market research 3,4 3,4 3,3 4,7 4,1 4,1 3,3 3,3 Analyst research* 3,8 4,0 3,3 3,4 3,8 3,0 3,3 Online business media 4,4 4,4 4,3 4,2 4,6 4,0 5,1 4,6 Print business media Digital media 5,5 5,3 5,2 5,8 5,8 6,0 2014 2012 2010 5,0 5,0 4,9 5,9 5,8 6,3 2014 2012 2010 5,5 5,0 5,9 5,7 2014 2012 Reported by mean of rankings Q4. Please rank the following information sources by how much they influence your investment decisions or recommendations? * Indicates sell side and industry analyst research for buy-side analysts; indicates industry analyst research for sell-side analysts BRUNSWICK 2014 4
Information from companies Face time with management remained the highest ranked resource made available by companies themselves (Based on a scale from 1 to 7) Top direct from company information sources Top Company Information Sources in 2014 Average Rank 1 Trends by year* Direct interaction with management 2.4 2 2,4 2,5 2,4 Direct interaction with management Conference calls, webcasts Conference calls, webcasts 3.4 Regulatory filings 3.4 Company news releases 3.5 Investor / corporate presentation 3.8 3 4 5 3,2 3,4 5,3 3,4 3,8 3,8 4,1 5,4 5,4 Regulatory filings Company news releases Investor / corporate presentation Company website Company website 5.4 Company digital/social media presence 6.5 6 7 6,5 6,7 6,9 2010 2012 2014 Company digital media presence Reported by mean of rankings Q5. Regarding information direct from companies, please rank the following by how much they influence your investment decisions or recommendations? BRUNSWICK 2014 5
Rating information from companies (Average rank, lower figures mean they are more influential) USA Europe Asia Direct interaction with management 2,6 2,7 2,5 2,6 2,4 2,3 1,6 2,5 Conference calls, webcasts 3,3 3,2 2,9 3,6 3,3 3,8 Regulatory filings 3,4 3,3 3,2 3,4 3,6 3,6 3,6 3,6 Company news releases 4 3,7 3,4 4 3,2 3,7 4,2 Investor / corporate presentation 3,9 3,7 3,6 4 4,3 Company website Company digital media presence 5,5 5,6 5,5 6,3 7,1 6,6 2014 2012 2010 5,2 5,4 5,2 6,7 7 6,7 2014 2012 2010 5,7 5,1 6,6 6,5 2014 2012 Reported by mean of rankings Q5. Regarding information direct from companies, please rank the following by how much they influence your investment decisions or recommendations? BRUNSWICK 2014 6
Changing importance of information sources Real-time subscription services and blogs are the media platforms that grew the most in importance according to investors Percent saying each technology has become more important this year Real time subscription services Blogs Traditional business media - Online 42% 36% 53% 40% 40% 28% 29% 29% 20% Europe USA Asia Europe USA Asia Europe USA Asia Social Networks Traditional business media Print, Radio, TV 20% 21% 13% 11% 6% 11% Europe USA Asia Europe USA Asia Q6. {MULTIPLE RESPONSE] Which, if any, of the following information sources have become more important to you in your job in the past year? BRUNSWICK 2014 7
Syndicated services see a rise in value Online-only Outlets (Seeking Alpha, Re/code, etc.) 40% 48% Syndicated Subscription Services (Bloomberg, Reuters, etc.) 22% 35% Traditional Media's Online Properties (WSJ.com, NYTimes.com, etc.) 16% 18% 9% Social Media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 2014 12% 2012 Q9. (OPEN-ENDED) Please list which digital media sources provide you with the most valuable information for your work? Please list these in order of importance to you. BRUNSWICK 2014 8
Impact of digital media
Most investors see the role of digital media increasing Nearly three in four investors believe that the role of digital media will play an increasing role in future investment decisions; Investors in Asia believe this most strongly 4% 6% 23% 70% Increasing Role Yes, definitely Yes, probably No, probably not No, definitely not Unsure 21% Europe USA Asia 64% 70% 79% 47% Q12. Do you think that digital media such as blogs, micro-blogging services or social networking sites will play an increasingly important role in investment decisions in the future? BRUNSWICK 2014 10
Digital media driving issue investigation Digital media sources remain a key information source, as investors are proactively following up on leads initially found online Information source prompting further investigation 70% Information source by year Information source in 2014 by region USA Europe Asia 60% 50% 52% 57% 58% +1 Blogs Blogs 67% 62% 52% 54% 54% 55% 2014 2012 40% 30% 20% 31% 29% 28% 14% 23% 29% 28% 25% +1-1 +2 Micro-blogging services Message boards Social networking sites Micro-blogging services Message boards 29% 22% 30% 33% 26% 25% 21% 19% 35% 44% 39% 37% 10% 11% 0% 2010 2012 2014 Social networking sites 26% 14% 25% 21% 25% 44% Q10. Have you ever read any information posted on a blog, micro-blogging service or social networking site that has prompted you to investigate an issue further for your work? BRUNSWICK 2014 11
Digital media driving investment decisions Nearly one-quarter of Asian investors made an investment decision after consulting a microblog, doubling the frequency of other regions Information source prompting investment decision 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Information source by year 27% 24% 18% 14% 12% 10% 11% 5% 9% 7% 4% 2% 2010 2012 2014 +3 +2 +1-2 Blogs Micro-blogging services Message boards Social networking sites Blogs Micro-blogging services Message boards Social networking sites Information source in 2014 by region USA Europe Asia 28% 24% 10% 4% 9% 7% 4% 4% 25% 22% 12% 14% 9% 9% 7% 7% 28% 28% 23% 24% 20% 19% 15% 21% 2014 2012 Q11. Have you ever made an investment decision or a recommendation after initially sourcing information from a blog, micro-blogging service or social networking site, which then led you to conduct additional research? BRUNSWICK 2014 12
Appendix: approach and participants profiles
Digital media and investment decisions Quantitative research with buy-side investors and sell-side analysts across the U.S., Europe and Asia, designed to understand usage of digital media in the investment process. Online data collected between October 15 and November 1, 2013. Invitations were sent to individuals from a subscription database, in USA, Europe or Asia. The following job titles were invited: Buy side: Analyst, Portfolio Manager, Portfolio Manager / Analyst, Director of Research, Research Associate Sell side: Analyst, Director of Equity Research, Research Associate Data presented in the 2014, 2012 and 2010 surveys have been weighted by country to allow accurate comparison. The survey included a sample size of 472 investors and had a margin of error of 4.5%. BRUNSWICK 2014 14
Job role and type of investments 48% Sell-side 52% Buy-side 21% Analyst / Researcher Investment advisor / Manager 48% 11% Mutual fund Hedge fund Other sell-side 5% Pension fund 1% 1% 11% 2% Insurance company Other buy-side Q2. Do you describe yourself as a buy-side investor or a sell-side analyst? Q3. Which of the following best describes your role and the type of investments you are responsible for? BRUNSWICK 2014 15
Industry sector Technology / Media / Telecoms 18% Consumer 33% Financial Energy 13% Manufacturing / Industry Healthcare Utilities 4% 8% 2% 4% 4% 5% 8% Other sector Specific geography Generalist Q13. What is the primary industry sector you cover? BRUNSWICK 2014 16
Market cap focus 24% 13% 7% 30% Small Cap - $250m up to $2bn Mid Cap - $2bn up to $10bn Large Cap - $10bn up to $100bn Other currency Not specified 27% Q14. What is your market cap focus? Please indicate which currency. BRUNSWICK 2014 17
Region 20% 40% US EU Asia 40% Q1. Where is your usual place of work? BRUNSWICK 2014 18
Age 3% 20% 27% 21% 29% 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Refused Q15. Which age band do you fit into? BRUNSWICK 2014 19
For more information please contact: Jason Golz Partner jgolz@brunswickgroup.com +1 415 671 7676 Sparky Zivin Director szivin@brunswickgroup.com +1 202 393 7337