Success Story:

Overview

Constellation Software is a leading provider of specialized software and services. Boasting over 125,000 customers in over 100 countries, and a market capitalization of approximately C$37B, Toronto based Constellation Software attracts a cadre of investors from around the world. We spoke to the Chief Financial Officer, Jamal Baksh, to understand how Constellation Software uses Irwin to keep track of investor activity.

Challenges

Prior to using Irwin, most of Jamal’s investor intelligence lived in emails and excel files, and were only reviewed and compiled prior to board meetings. As a one-man show, Jamal was having trouble managing all the IR activity, yet he recognized the need for a solution that would allow him to easily monitor investor activity and keep track of key conversations with big investors. 

“Investors were reaching out to us, but I didn’t always have information on hand to quickly understand their position and respond accordingly. I would have to go into Outlook to find information.”

Additionally, a lack of accessible holdings data and contact data made Constellation Software vulnerable to activist investors. Jamal recalls a situation prior to using Irwin where he became aware of an activist after they had started building a small position with the company. In order to mitigate disruption from the activist, Jamal had to identify his largest shareholders and contact them. Without a solution like Irwin to identify the relevant contacts, Jamal had to go through emails to find the contact names and emails for the largest shareholders so he could reach out and explain why they should vote against the activist proposal. ‍

“Everything I was doing was ad hoc, I was manually going through Outlook to find out who investors were and putting together presentations. We had an activist come after us, so I had to deal with that through email. I knew the situation wasn’t optimal. ”

How Irwin Is helping Constellation 

Monitoring Holders and Identifying Potential Activism

Jamal is now able to keep track of institutional and retail investor sentiment. He can track investors individually, or use share price data to follow large scale trends. He can now see overall trends in the investor community to measure the effectiveness of communication materials such as press releases and statutory filings. 

Additionally, Jamal no longer has to struggle to pull up information on investors or track activist movements. Irwin’s smart shareholder data gives Jamal real time insight on shareholder positions, making it easy to spot activist movements and prevent unwanted campaigns. 

“Irwin makes it easy to know who your holders are and figure out demographics. That’s good for us to know, it shows us what strategies will be effective.”

Quickly Accessing Shareholder Histories

Additionally, Jamal can now log his interactions with investors in a CRM to refer to information later, which is much easier than digging through his inbox. Emails and notes can get logged and categorized so he can recall previous conversations and observations at a glance. 

“I like the ability to click on any investor and keep tabs on them. It helps to refer back to previous conversations so we can make informed strategic decisions.”

Saving Time on Reporting

Instead of pulling reports for the board out of disorganized emails and Excel files, Jamal now has access to best in class instant reporting capabilities. With the click of a button, Jamal can instantly access and export reports on recent investor activity, investor demographics, and peer activity. This saves him a significant amount of time when preparing for meetings, and allows him to address priorities strategically.

Final Thoughts

Irwin is extremely easy to use and cost effective. The data and intelligence it provides are valuable, and I like the ability to keep track of notes and conversations with investors. It’s got all of the tools for tracking positions, running reports, keeping track of investors, and planning roadshows and investor events.