5 of the most important investor conferences you need to know about

In this article, we recap the 5 most important investor conferences that ASX investors should know about.

The ones we mention below stand out above any others, because companies (as well as investors, brokers and IR professionals) from all over the country and the world all flock to these events. Not just to hear the companies but also for the wining and dining that occurs, as part of gala events that may occur but also in company meetings outside the conference. It is at these conferences where companies become known to investors. At some of them, these companies get awarded for their achievements.

Unfortunately, we have excluded Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, which is the most important anywhere in the world, because we are sticking exclusively to ASX companies. With that out of the way, here are the most important meetings.

SIGN UP FOR THE STOCKS DOWN UNDER NEWSLETTER NOW!

The 5 most important investor conferences

Diggers & Dealers

This one tops the lot. Each August, resources companies with projects in WA and investors go out to Kalgoorlie for 3 days.

Attendees not only hear form companies but also from a keynote speaker (past ones have included John Howard and Gina Rinehart). And the best companies are presented with awards such as the The Digger of the Year, Dealer of the Year, GJ Stokes Memorial Award, Media Award and Best Emerging Company award. The latter one is sometimes called ‘the Kiss of Death’ because so many hit the skids (either temporarily or permanently).

Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) was last year’s Digger of the Year, Allkem (ASX:AKE) was the best dealer and Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) was best emerging company. Companies with projects nearby will use the opportunity to give investors a site tour.

Macquarie Equities

This conference is typically held in May and is sector-agnostic. It has been going for over 25 years and typically has dozens of companies presenting, including plenty of large cap companies. Macquarie’s CEO typically presents as well as do members of Macquarie’s team on macroeconomic issues.

Other speakers are invited too – executives at major management consulting firms or from public sector agencies. The companies that present may use it to give a trading update, but these are typically overshadowed in the media by something one of the guest speakers has said.

Bioshares

Bioshares is not just an investment publication – it is also a gathering of biotech investors. Prior to the pandemic, it occurred in Queenstown but has since moved back to this side of the Tasman.

You won’t hear from the big healthcare companies like CSL (ASX:CSL) or ResMed (ASX:RMD), but plenty of aspirants seeking to become the next big player. Companies will be at the clinical phase or seeking regulatory approval. And you might get one or two companies coming back one year having recorded stellar clinical trial results or gained FDA approval.

121

This investment conference isn’t exclusively one for ASX-listed companies, but it is nonetheless one where Australian companies are substantially represented. This is not just because of how many resources stocks there are on the ASX, but specifically because quite a number of them know they have a good deposit, but need capital to put it into production.

The 121 conference series intends to bring companies face to face with investors. There are a few of these held annually in Australia, North America, the UK and Africa. The Cape Town edition is typically held in February and many companies with projects in Africa will use the opportunity to show off their projects to investors first hand.

RIU

This event is organised by Vertical Events that runs a number of conferences annually, focusing on several different sectors. We are focusing on the RIU Resources Round Up held in early May in Sydney. Unlike Diggers and Dealers, this conference sees Westerners heading East to show off their companies to potential investors.

Just like at Diggers and Dealers, resources companies presenting will conceive a new company presentation just for the conference. You’re highly unlikely to see a company you know of showing off new information it hasn’t released to the market before. But if you tune in, you just might find one or two companies you haven’t heard of before and might represent good investment opportunities.

What are the Best ASX Stocks to invest in right now?

Check our buy/sell tips on the top ASX stocks