New Zealand's leading investor relations advisory firm for more than two decades.
Merlin IR provides NZX and ASX-listed companies with advice in relation to investor relations, shareholder analytics, capital management, sustainability/ESG, governance and financial communications.
We are the trusted independent adviser that New Zealand listed company boards, senior management and IR professionals turn to for advice and support to help them successfully communicate with the capital markets and other stakeholders, onshore and offshore.
Whether considering financial reporting, implementing a sustainability programme, a corporate transaction, investor identification, new investor targeting, crisis communications, a strategic initiative, implementation of climate change reporting, announcing a CEO change or any of the multitude of matters that take place in the investor relations, governance and sustainability space, we can assist you to plan and execute smoothly and effectively.
In late 2022 we added a new advisory stream to give our clients support in the area of capital management. Rather than simply being the outcome of a series of events or transactions, capital management is most effectively executed when based on a well planned strategy. Shawn Beck leads this area of Merlin's business and has a deep combination of knowledge and experience in capital markets and corporate finance with extensive strategic and operational capability to guide boards and executive teams to deliver lower risk and better solutions to capital events based on a well-planned capital strategy.
Services
Communication
- Results + annual reports
- NZX/ASX releases
- Factsheets/newsletters
- Meetings, briefing days, roadshows
- Website content
- Financial media engagement
- Financial / non-financial guidance
- Executive training, mentoring
- Presentation / media training
Intelligence
- Perception analysis
- Communications, contact audits
- Competitor disclosure reviews
- Register, investor proofing
- Consensus tracking
- Relative performance reporting
- LTI share plan reporting
- Board reporting
Ownership Analytics
- Equity + debt ownership reporting
- Peer group ownership analysis
- Investor domicile analysis for OIO
reporting
- Investor targeting
- AGM/EGM vote monitoring
- Transaction support
Programme Support
- Confidential counsel
- Transaction support
- Programme implementation
- Disclosure review
- Presentation + media training
- Contract + meeting management
- Staff coaching + mentoring
Strategy + Research
- IR Programme design + review
- IPO, transaction support
- KPI development
- Communication strategy + policy
- IR best-practice counsel
- Financial market research
Sustainability
- Reporting initiation
- Materiality matrix development
- Reporting framework advice
- Sustainability reports
- Strategic roadmap development
- ESG investor targeting
- ESG research
- Reporting initiation
- Materiality matrix development
- Reporting framework advice
- Sustainability reports
- Strategic roadmap development
- ESG investor targeting
- ESG research
Achieve lower risk and better solutions to capital events
- Build process, establish and execute a capital strategy and plan, aligned to business’s strategy
- Free up company exec and board to focus on business
Capital Management
Governance
- Charter + policy drafting/reviews
- NZX/ASX Governance Code compliance
- ASM/ESM management
- Proxy house advice
- Proxy solicitation
- Governance roadshows
- Policy compliance + assurance
- Board performance reviews
AccessIR
Shareholder analysis is the foundation for an effective IR strategy. Merlin is the only New Zealand provider of beneficial ownership reporting services. Combining rigorous shareholder analysis with a powerful investor contact relationship management system, our AccessIR product delivers all of your reporting and monitoring requirements in one seamless package.
The AccessIR system provides data and reports to both a summarised and detailed level that enable IR professionals to:
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Know the shareholders by identifying and monitoring the company’s true beneficial owners.
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Identify investors’ investment style with dynamic access to investor profiles.
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Target new investors with a global database of over 15,000 investors, 40,000 funds and 114,000 contacts.
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Publish roadshow briefing books to provide management with investor profiles, meeting notes, and holdings information.
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Manage relationships by organising meetings and logging meeting notes.
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Keep the IR team informed by providing team members with access to the information library; in and out of the office.
AccessIR is an invaluable tool for supporting corporate actions. The ability to view live data enables in-house teams and transaction advisers to monitor investor acceptances and voting support as the closing date approaches.
For more information, please click here.
People
Annabel Cotton
+64 (0)27 473 7330
Email Annabel
Since establishing Merlin IR in 1998 Annabel has advised many of New Zealand’s leading listed companies on a wide variety of matters relating to their equity, governance and sustainability programmes. Alongside her advisory work, Annabel is a director of NZX Regulation and NZ Growth Capital Partners where she chairs the audit and risk committee.
Annabel is also a trustee of several large charitable trusts including Global Women. Her governance experience includes having been a director and audit committee member at Trust Investments Management, Waikato Regional Airport, Genesis Energy, the Securities Commission, the External Reporting Board and several small NZX listed companies. Annabel is a former director of AIRA, the Australasian Investor Relations Association.
Annabel is an AIRA Certified Investor Relations Officer as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals NZ, the Australasian Investor Relations Association, the Institute of Directors and Chartered Accountants Australia
New Zealand.
Anna Bonney
+64 (0)21 844 155
Email Anna
Anna’s exceptionally broad investor relations experience includes leading Mercury Energy’s programme for more than four years. Anna was appointed Head of Investor Relations ahead of the company’s $1.7 billion IPO, which resulted in the largest share register in New Zealand with over 100,000 retail shareholders and a strong global institutional investor base.
Anna started her career working for NZ Funds Management. Moving to the UK in 2001, Anna gained experience in investor relations working for the London Stock Exchange and International Power. Returning home in 2010, Anna remained in the energy sector; holding the Investor Relations Manager role for Vector. After Vector went on to win the Infinz best Corporate Communicator in 2011, Anna joined Mercury Energy.
Anna has a Masters in Economics from Auckland University and is a former director of the Australasian Investor Relations Association, Australasia’s investor relations industry body.
Amanda West
+64 (0)21 043 9674
Email Amanda
Amanda has extensive investor relations experience; having provided advice and support to a large number of New Zealand’s top listed companies. Many of her client relationships are enduring; some extending close to two decades.
Amanda’s experience in IR is wide-ranging and includes hands-on involvement in initial public offerings, capital raising, as well as mergers and acquisitions. She is well known for her practical advice and made-to-measure solutions that assist all clients, whatever their size.
Amanda’s detailed understanding of share register analytics and equity ownership structures is also unique in the New Zealand market.
Amanda has achieved AIRA's Certified Investor Relations Officer qualification.
Shawn Beck
+64 (0)27 529 6889
Email Shawn
Shawn is an ex-IB/ PE/ adviser/ owner/principal/ agent/ Board
director/Chair including of NZX listed companies. He has completed or led external firms in completing a significant
range of IB/ ECM/ M&A/ Bank transactions, most of them multiple and some many times.
Shawn is American and moved to New Zealand in 1987 to work as a sellside analyst. Between 1989 and 1993 he worked at Morrison & Co before setting up Pencarrow Private Equity in 1993. Between 2011 and 2022 he was the
Operating director for a various private businesses.
Shawn has an MBA from Texas Christian University and a
BA (Honours) Economics and Business from Emory & Henry College.
Contact
For more information about any of our investor relations services, or to find out if the AccessIR tool is right for your business, please get in touch with us using the contact form below.
P.O. Box 25 954
St Heliers, Auckland 1071