What are Annual General Meetings?

Shareholders often face challenges when assessing a company’s key management. As such, one of the best ways to assess them properly is to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Let’s have a clear cut definition of an Annual General Meeting. The AGM is actually an annual meeting held by a listed company to meet retail investors and discuss issues such as the re-election of the board of directors, the approval of director’s fees, etc. As an investor, it is important to attend this event. It’s not just because there’s free food and possibly, gifts from the company. More than anything else, investors must attend this event because it’s an opportunity to question the board face-to-face. So, what happens in AGMs and what should you, as an investor do?

Before the AGM, read the company’s annual report to understand its business model as well as the management’s background and roles. In addition, look at the company’s hostorical track records in terms of profitability and its financial health status. It’s best for you to prepare a list of questions to ask during the meeting about anything you are unsure about. And last but not the least, bring your name cards to the network.

During the AGM, raise the questions to the management, and they will be happy to answer your questions. Take note of the main points. Watch their body language to see whether the management is telling the truth. You might want to learn some basic body language skills to help you assess this! In addition, some of the investors might ask questions that you might not have though of, so please take note of them and their answers as well.

After the AGM, it is usually the best chance to privately speak to the management to aks some of your more sensitive questions. From this discussion, you get to know more relevant information that might not have been covered during the more formal confines of the AGM. It is also likely that the management would be pleased to disclose more information. You can talk to some of the shareholders too. They can be very knowledgeable and share things with you that you don’t know. They are usually happy to share their viewpoints regarding the management and their reasons for investing with a fellow shareholder like you.

When you get home or get back to the office after the meeting, it is wise to document the important things that you’ve learned, as you may very well use them for future references.

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