ORLANDO, Fla., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- While 87 percent of the Nasdaq 100
have investor relations information available on their web sites, most lack
the key information necessary to compete for the new online investor,
according to a PR Newswire study released today at the National Investor
Relations Institute annual conference.
    Most of the Nasdaq 100 companies have placed their investor sections
prominently, less than two clicks from the home page, but the information is
not complete enough for investors to conduct adequate research, according to
Mike Reilly, an expert in corporate Internet communications and President of
Hally Enterprises, Inc.
    The study shows that while 91 percent of the web sites provide earnings
news, 15 percent do not have any contact information.  Thirteen percent do not
have stock quotes and, of those, 46 percent require the visitor to click on a
link to get to the quote.  Seventy-three percent do not provide dividend
information.
    "The Internet is the new global frontier of investing.  It has opened up a
whole new world for the individual investor, and the stock markets are already
looking to extend trading hours to accommodate them.  But this study clearly
shows that even some of the most prestigious public companies that are
typically industry trendsetters are not using the Internet to its full
advantage.  They are not meeting the needs of the new investor," Reilly said.
    Four out of five investors report that they now access corporate
information through the web, with estimates of 7.2 million investors trading
online with equity assets of $420 billion.  Many investors have taken over
their own portfolios or have become more active traders because they are able
to use the web to conduct research on companies and place trades themselves,
said Michelle Savage, PR Newswire's director of investor relations services.
According to the PR Newswire study, 72 of the Nasdaq 100 provide access to
their 1998 and 1999 annual reports from the web.  None of the web sites
provide analyst reports, and only 13 percent provide consensus estimates.
Seventy-five percent link to their SEC filings, but over one-third of those
require the visitor to leave the corporate web site entirely.  Fifty-two
percent use push e-mail features to interact directly with investors and
30 percent contain lists of relevant analysts.
    Of the Nasdaq 100, 86 do not have audio and 94 do not have video on their
web sites.  Savage said these multimedia tools provide an opportunity for
companies to communicate with investors and other audiences on another level.
Conference calls are being broadcast on the web increasingly because
cybercasting them encourages full participation from those who cannot attend
in person and expands the audience to include potential investors and the
media, she said.  Audio and video also should be used to expand audiences for
events, news conferences and annual meetings.  Video company profiles make a
deep, lasting impressions as well, she said.
    To assist public companies in gauging their effectiveness in providing
investor information, PR Newswire is now offering free web audits.  Companies
will receive a checklist of important features that are missing as well as
ways that the information should be included.
    "Companies may not be using the Internet fully because of the cost and
time involved in including the crucial elements of an effective investor
relations web site," Savage said.
    As a vital partner in disclosing material information for public
companies, PR Newswire has begun offering the creation of a complete investor
relations web site that is cost-effective and maintenance-free, according to
Savage.  vIRtual IQ, created in the same look and feel as the company web
site, offers constantly fresh financial information such as news, stock quotes
and SEC filings as well as links across the Internet that drive traffic to the
corporate home page.
    Investors may gather complete corporate information, request documents
such as annual reports and proxy statements, and register to have company
information including stock quotes and headline news pushed to their e-mail
addresses.  All conference calls, video and audio events, slide show
presentations, and other tools produced through PR Newswire are archived on
the web site for maximum exposure.
    Hally Enterprises, http://www.hallyenterprises.com, a global corporate
communications consultancy that specializes in Internet technologies as well
as investor relations, provided strategic advice in the creation of
vIRtual IQ.

    PR Newswire offers world-class investor relations products and services
and is the global leader in the electronic distribution of full-text news
releases to the media and financial community.  PR Newswire, which founded the
industry 45 years ago, has 29 U.S. bureaus, five overseas bureaus, an
exclusive partnership with Canada NewsWire and a vast network of wire, fax,
e-mail and Internet delivery systems.

    Please visit PR Newswire at the NIRI annual conference, booths 708, 710
and 712.

    For more information, please contact:  Michelle Savage, PR Newswire's
director of investor relations services, Michelle_Savage@prnewswire.com; or
Renu K. Aldrich, PRN's PR manager, Renu_Aldrich@prnewswire.com.

Link to this page:

  

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/106115.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 106115
CONTACT:
Michelle Savage, Director of Investor
Relations Services, 212-596-1526, or
Michelle_Savage@prnewswire.com, or Renu K. Aldrich, PR Manager,
212-282-1929, or pager, 800-503-2654 , or
Renu_Aldrich@prnewswire.com., both of PR Newswire

---

---

Issuers of news releases and not PR Newswire are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Terms and conditions, including restrictions on redistribution, apply.
Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
A United Business Media company.