Gargiulo + Partners || Investor Communications || Case Studies

This leader in commercial, consumer, and investment banking – for whom we have provided numerous communications services over a decade-long relationship – has retained Gargiulo + Partners to assist in preparing its quarterly and annual earnings and shareholder reports. We have worked for this firm through 10 annual report cycles, and we have advised on stress tests and other regulatory reports in the wake of the financial crisis.

Over the past decade, we have edited and helped set the tone of all of the firm's 10K and 10Q filings, applying and interpreting the firm's own style guides. Additionally, we have written portions of both these filings and the front-of-book marketing sections of several annual reports. From advising senior editors and designers, to developing earnings messages and editing copy for filings alongside the SEC reporting team, we have helped the firm shape both the direction and the language of its official communications.

Recently, we have also worked on the firm's specialized reports to regulatory bodies, advising on narrative structure, presentation of information, messaging, and language. These reports present a particular communications challenge, as they must address novel issues under very tight, federally mandated timeframes. We helped the firm structure the documents and present sizable amounts of previously unreported data in as clear a manner as possible. We have found that putting the data and stress-test results in context and creating a coherent narrative are critical to achieving favorable responses from regulators.

As our work for the firm enters its second decade, the scope continues to evolve and expand, encompassing not just regular investor communications but also notifications of earnings-related special events and reports to the Federal Reserve.

This private, global alternative asset manager wanted to produce an annual review of its investment performance and strategic milestones. This fact alone was unusual – as a heritage hedge-fund business and a part of a larger organization, the firm was under no regulatory requirement to report its results publicly. Nonetheless, after a strong year marked by landmark performance and growth, the firm sought to further its already high standards of transparency.

The firm engaged Gargiulo + Partners to develop and produce its first-ever annual review, from the ground up. Given the near-total lack of a template for such a report in the industry, we began by considering the scope, the presentation, and indeed the very size and shape of the document.

Once we helped the firm settle on a unique structure and look for the piece – working alongside a design firm chosen specially for the project – we set about researching, writing, and project-managing the review. We were closely involved with all aspects of creating the document, from structuring and helping to draft the chairman's letter; to drafting and honing virtually all of the reporting and marketing copy, including interfacing with the firm's legal counsel; to advising on the design and layout of charts and other visuals.

The resulting annual review created a standard for the industry in nonregulatory reporting. It was met with favorable press, universally positive feedback from clients and prospects, and admiration from industry participants. We advised the firm on a second annual review and continue to advise management on selected communications with investors and the public.

This fast-growing Canadian company with a loyal – but exclusively Canadian – shareholder base had caught the attention of institutional investors and equity analysts outside its home markets. Responding to requests from U.S. and European market participants, the executive team decided to do its first-ever roadshow outside of Canada. On the advice of the company's banker, the executives decided to engage a communications advisor to ensure the right messages were being delivered to a new, demanding audience. The company hired Gargiulo + Partners for the task.

In five short years, the company had successfully transformed itself from a microcap Canadian company, manufacturing equipment for the pulp and paper industry, into a $1 billion global corporation providing leading technologies for sectors including ore processing and water treatment. The roadshow, in addition to introducing the company to a new investor base, simultaneously provided an opportunity for the newly appointed president to address the financial community as head of the company.

This mandate drew upon Gargiulo + Partners' core strengths: redirecting investor communications, to ensure the messages reflected the higher-margin, higher-growth business lines into which the company had evolved; and then, working with members of the executive team, to ensure those messages were communicated clearly, confidently, and convincingly. Specifically, we:



	•	Developed the investment thesis, messaging, and storyline, including supporting data

	•	Wrote the presentation and accompanying speaker notes for the CEO, President, and CFO

	•	Redesigned the company's PowerPoint template, making it cleaner, less dense, and more graphically oriented

	•	Rehearsed the CEO, President, and CFO for the presentations

The roadshow was a success. The stock price rose immediately afterward; the shareholder base became more geographically diverse; and equity analysts' reports and recommendations reflected the company's new position in higher-growth businesses.