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About the author
Ilias Läber (1974) studied electrical and business engineering at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. During his studies he worked part-time at UBS Warburg. Following completion of his engineering studies at the beginning of 2001, he worked for the Corporate Finance & Strategy Practice of McKinsey & Company, Switzerland, where he was involved in projects in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany. After further studies in finance and doctoral studies at the Swiss Banking Institute of the Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Information Technology of the University of Zurich, he rejoined McKinsey & Company at the end of 2003.
Summary
Traditionally, the focus of investor relations has been on reducing information asymmetries between corporate managers and the financial community through timely and accurate disclosure of all share-price-relevant information. The research presented in this book suggests corporate managers can do more to reduce valuation gaps and excess stock return volatility. These enhanced investor relations activities are subsumed under the term ‘investor management’, which, besides corporate disclosure, comprises active management of the ownership structure and investors’ preferences.
The focus of this book is investor identification and segmentation. Knowing and understanding the ownership base is a necessary prerequisite for investor management. The research presented provides the theoretical basis for investor management and assesses the feasibility of its use by large Swiss companies. The book discusses the following questions: Does it make sense for companies to manage the investor base? To what extent are large Swiss companies proactively managing their investor base? Is it possible for Swiss companies to systematically identify the most critical investors?
