As an investor relations professional, it's important to have solutions that don't depend on one brokerage company. That way, you can maintain relationships with all of your investors, no matter where they choose to invest. In this primer, we're going to run through what Brokerage-Agnostic actually means, why it should be important to you, and some products that follow this mindset.
A brokerage firm is a company that helps investors buy and sell stocks, bonds, and other securities. They typically charge a commission for this service, and can offer a variety of investment options.
There are many different brokerage firms out there, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, some may have lower fees but offer fewer investment options. Others may have higher fees but provide more personalization and support. Many modern day retail investors use newer brokerages like Robinhood that have no commission fees. Many other brokerages have also dropped fees in an attempt to compete.
For example, TD Ameritrade recently dropped its commission fees to $0 in order to compete with Robinhood. Charles Schwab and E-Trade have also followed suit.
Some brokers are beginning offer investor relations products like communications tools built for retail investors. This is great news, but comes with a potential downside.
The potential downside is that these solutions become brokerage dependent, which can limit your ability to maintain relationships with all of your investors. For example, if you use a communications tool that's only available on TD Ameritrade, what happens when one of your investors moves their account to E-Trade?
This is where brokerage-agnostic solutions come in.
A brokerage-agnostic solution is a product or service that is not tied to any one particular brokerage firm. This means that it can be used by investors no matter where they choose to invest.
There are many benefits to using brokerage-agnostic solutions, including:
Now, we'll take a look at some examples of brokerage-agnostic solutions for investor relations professionals.
The ShareClub Shareholder Verification Service (SVS) is a great example of a brokerage-agnostic solution. It's a service that helps you verify shareholder ownership and push them into authenticated platform, so you can better engage with them.
The SVS is not tied to any one particular brokerage firm, which means that it can be used by investors no matter where they choose to invest. This makes it a great solution for investor relations professionals who want to maintain relationships with all of their investors, regardless of where they choose to invest.
ShareClub Fireside Chats are another great example of a brokerage-agnostic solution. They're online events that allow you to interact with your shareholders in real-time.
Investor Relations and company officers can use Fireside Chats to provide updates on the business, answer questions, and build relationships with shareholders. And because they're not tied to any one particular brokerage firm, they can be used by any investor.
ShareClub Q&A is a question and answer platform that gives retail investors a voice. It's a great way to interact with your shareholders, get feedback, and provide transparency into your company.
If you're looking for ways to better engage with your all of your shareholders, consider using a brokerage-agnostic solution. It doesn't make sense tying yourself to one single brokerage firm when there are so many great solutions that can be used by investors no matter where they trade and invest!
