Communication is the key to success in business, especially when handling worldwide operations. To better understand the business structure and appropriate expectations for company stocks, investors and intermediaries expect a high level of communication and candor from the companies. Digital communication has further streamlined the process of building investor relations for over a decade now as companies are now arming themselves for a digital transformation. Proxymity, an investor communications platform has taken an approach to serve this need by connecting investors via a unique digital pathway, creating more efficient, accurate and transparent solutions throughout the ecosystem. Dean Little, Co-Founder of Proxymity was with the CEOViews team to share their story.
Inception and mission
Shareholder communication has traditionally been inconsistent, inefficient, and outdated. Providing the technology to streamline this process, linking issuers, intermediaries and investors digitally, felt like an over-due development, and out of this necessity Proxymity was born. The unique offerings that Proxymity provide, has had great traction since it was started in 2017. More and more organisations are seeing the benefits of changing the way they communicate with investors, especially in the wake of SRD II.
From the beginning, Proxymity’s vision was to deliver these benefits for the whole industry, rather than be owned by one company. To support this vision, in April 2020 some of the world’s largest financial institutions joined together to invest in the platform and establish Proxymity as an independent business.
Story of Legacy
Trusted by the world’s largest financial institutions, Proxymity is the leading digital investor communications platform, serving over 25 markets world-wide. Maintaining the legacy of success means constantly innovating and staying in touch with what the users require to improve communication between all parties. Part of this is to provide a simple and intuitive product which can make people’s lives easier.
A digital pathway between issuers, intermediaries and investors
Proxymity connects the world’s ecosystem of issuers, intermediaries, and investors digitally in real time, bringing unprecedented transparency, efficiency, and accuracy to traditional paper-based processes. The solutions give public companies confidence that their AGM/EGM agendas are transmitted as “golden source” and provide institutional investors with the time to research and vote on corporate decisions, as well as actual digital confirmation that their votes have been received. The digital-native platform, built on highly scalable technology, provides full compliance with the latest regulations such as the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II).
The digital-native platform, built on highly scalable technology, provides full compliance with the latest regulations.
Cyber security and quality processes
Proxymity ensures to provide a secure and compliant infrastructure for the benefit of the customers and partners who expect the highest level of cyber-security and data compliance. Proxymity secured SOC 2 Type 2 certification to commit to the best practice and it’s Cybersecurity and Technology team proceeded with the next step in demonstrating the company’s commitment towards privacy, compliance, security, availability, processing integrity and confidentiality by preparing a platform and business process to achieve the more rigorous SOC 2 type 2 certification.
Digital solutions Proxymity acts as a unique digital pathway between issuers, intermidiaries and investors on a web-based platform.
Proxy voting platform
Proxymity’s proxy voting platform, Vote Connect, has been approved for use by the world’s major banks and is now serving over 25 markets, delivering a continuous “golden source” record reconciled throughout, revolutionising traditional paper-based processes with digital transparency, efficiency and accuracy.
Communication is the key
Speaking about how they manage to stand out from the peers in the industry, Dean said, “A large part of this is speaking to and listening to people in the industry. This means understanding both what investors and companies or asset managers are looking for and how this is changing. Greater awareness around ESG is a good example, where many younger investors are looking to hold companies accountable or demand structural change once they have invested. This is where we can provide a basis for communication. Facilitating this exchange of information is only going to become more important in the coming years.”
Innovation and culture
A culture of innovation identifies the changing values and fosters productivity and profitability within the business environment. For Proxymity, innovation is not only built into their processes but also in their culture that is built around values of Collaboration, Respect, Trustworthiness, being Revolutionary and staying Customer-focused. The values are reflected in the disruption and innovative awards Proxymity has won in 2 short years. Adding to that, Dean said, “We encourage all the teams to think and question if there is a better, smarter way to do what we do. It makes for a dynamic and creative environment. We have a well-established new product development process that I aligned with our development roadmap. This activity is a part of our QA processes.
Future Vision
Fundraising and launching a company in a lockdown world and hiring at scale to deliver for the customers have been challenging for Proximity. But they listened to the voice of their customers and worked to remain authentic to the purpose of the organization by ensuring support and collaboration. Proxymity continues to serve the mission by staying proactive, listening to both customers and colleagues, and maintaining an environment where everyone is enabled to contribute new ideas and concepts.
We encourage all the teams to think and question if there is a better, smarter way to do what we do. It makes for a dynamic and creative environment.
With automated, digital solutions Proxymity acts as a unique digital pathway between issuers, intermediaries, and investors on a web-based platform.
