Conventional wisdom believes the vast majority of public equities are fully or over-valued relative to traditional financial metrics. We have a contrarian viewpoint: many public equities are severely under-valued relative to the brand equity they aren’t capturing. “Under-earning potential” is one of the most common problems inside corporate America today. 

Times are changing

The lines between Ad agencies, PR firms, IR firms, brand strategists and other service providers have begun to blur. Historically, each business filled a need and stayed in its own lane. Corporations now prefer to have fewer partners with a greater number of capabilities to help them reach True Market Value.  In the public markets that means a higher market cap and satisfied shareholders. In the private market, that often means aiding a capital raise or helping founders identify the right team to map future strategy to stated goals. TMV Partners is unique because we start our process coming from a capital markets (public and private) perspective and work our way back to help companies achieve goals.  

We understand business strategy, how to communicate with senior management and the street, as well as how to act as the bridge between multiple service providers. We are compelling because our roots are in capital markets, business strategy and investor relations. We are essential because we understand how to translate PR and Brand Strategy back to capital markets communications. We are the vital hub connecting the spokes to the wheel.

Our observations

1.)  Investors are frustrated and have little information at their finger-tips. Corporate investor relations offerings are fragmented at best. Significant IR teams & capabilities greatly enhance corporate messaging and corporate capital allocation opportunities. Once this happens, the shareholder base can expand allowing market cap to move towards “true market value.” In our experience, very few companies reach potential using their current IR approach. To generate more buying interest from a broader investor base, there must be a cohesive messaging strategy that should start at the IR/PR intersection. We are experts at categorizing companies and connecting the right company with the right investor archetype.

2.)  Public company CEOs are frustrated.They seek expertise to best guide them through capital markets but are often met with reactive input, or guidance that is weakly versed in the inner workings of today’s markets, fund management, equity research and passive/active ETF construction methodologies. The time spent with investors often ends up being highly inefficient for all concerned. Investors are not seeing the value the CEOs see because the messaging is inconsistent and not pushed through the full “investor opportunity set”. Our experience allows us to keep CEO’s engaged through the TMV process allowing a smoother journey through the implementation of new business strategy.

3.)  Brand Agencies are frustrated. Big ideas can no longer be implemented in isolation, they must be assessed across multiple business segments and using a domino-effect approach. The role that a service provider plays is uniquely different and tied to the life-stage of the business. Early stage companies have a unique set of issues and opportunities when compared to established public companies. Working with founders is often different than working with CEO’s. We understand this and our strategy incorporates the special nuances between the two. The future seems clear: as more strategy is brought in-house, brand strategists will be forced to increase their set of offerings. Introducing sound capital markets strategies to traditional brand strategy offers a fresh, 1+1=3 solution for companies.

The True Market Value Approach

A team seasoned in capital markets, analyst communications, business strategy, brand building, and investor relations. We understand how CEOs, CFOs, and Boards think. We operate without bias and help companies make the right choices even when they are difficult and may require self-disruption. We know what financial metrics often lead to significant stock outperformance and what a culture of innovation and a relentless focus on the customer can provide to shareholders. 

Brand relevancy is the key to reaching full potential.

We approach assessing brand relevancy from traditional and non-traditional angles, deploying quantitative and qualitative measures that assess: 

• Corporate operating metrics & capital allocation decisions

• Corporate governance details

• Corporate culture

• Board engagement

• Corporate innovation

• Management vision

• Style factor analysis across capital markets

• Additional addressable market opportunities

• Demographic diversity & customer loyalty

• Consistency of stock outperformance versus the S&P 500

• Corporate communications and investor relations acumen

Our goal is simple: build a strategic alliance with top brand consulting firms, PR firms, Ad agencies, Investor Relations staff or IR agencies to help more brands achieve “mega-brand” status.  There’s significant upside opportunity when achieving mega-brand status through True Market Value implementation.

We are uniquely qualified to advise on how to achieve TMV. We’ve delivered market increases measured in the tens of billions. We’ve worked directly for, and in conjunction with marketing, public relations, and corporate brand personnel. As the manager of a global brands equity mutual fund, we identify leaders and take pride in finding hidden gems. We understand the language, the strategies, the financial levers, the art of relationship building and what it takes to become a premiere, highly relevant brand.

The first step involves taking an x-ray of the current business using our Brand Relevancy Audit. Once we have a score for the business, we can get more granular on each component and help you map out the strategy to enhance your brand and increase relevancy across important metrics. This process is unique because it doesn’t stop with brand strategy or PR integration, it stretches through to capital markets messaging with a more appropriate IR effort that includes building the messaging and targeting the most appropriate shareholders, analysts, and investors. We touch each part of the brand enhancement process to make sure it’s received in a way that offers maximum benefit to shareholders. Lots of firms dabble in capital markets, our focus on it offers us a key competitive advantage in the industry.

The Team