In our conversations with Investor Relations (IR) teams, the subject of analyst coverage comes up regularly and it is clear that IR teams invest a lot of time in making sure they maintain good levels of analyst coverage. Good analysts play a valuable role in ensuring that the corporate story is well understood – so how can IR teams make sure they are aligned with the leading analysts?
Here at WeConvene, we have been raising the point for some time now that despite the best efforts of IR teams it is highly likely that the vast majority of corporates will start to see a reduction in the number of analysts that cover them as the impact of MiFID II takes hold. We are certainly not the only ones delivering this message and based on our discussions with IRO’s from mid and small-cap corporates, it is a scenario that many are now actively preparing for.
Our recently released whitepaper Why IROs should focus on strategic engagement with analysts examines this scenario in detail and for IR teams, one of the main points we highlight is that the number of analysts covering a company is in some respects less important than ensuring that you are covered by the most influential analysts or to put it another way, the analysts that investors “value” enough to deem worth paying for in a post-MiFID II world. We lay out the reasons why this is the case in the whitepaper, but another one to add to the list is that these are theanalysts most likely to survive as the industry undergoes MiFID II related change in the next 12-18 months.
As a starting point for IR teams, qualitative resources such as surveys of the investment community are a great way to get an understanding of which analysts are the most highly valued by investors. Handily, Extel, the leading survey of the European investment community is also part of WeConvene and provides a unique insight into what the buy side values.
For the 2017 Extel survey, 15,561 investment professionals at 3,199 buy-side firms cast their votes on the services provided to them by the sell side. From the hundreds of analysts rated across all sectors, below is a list of the analysts that were most highly ranked in their relevant sectors – the analysts that investors voted the best from among their peer group.
Using Data to Identify the Most Influential Analysts
Identifying which analysts truly influence buy-side behavior requires moving beyond subjective assessment. Modern IR teams leverage multiple data sources to build an evidence-based view of analyst influence within their sector. The combination of industry surveys, corporate access engagement data, and ownership analytics provides a comprehensive picture of which analysts drive actual investment decisions.
The Extel Survey represents one of the most comprehensive assessments of sell-side quality available to IR professionals. With thousands of buy-side professionals casting votes on analyst performance, the resulting rankings provide a credible external benchmark for analyst influence. For IR teams building their strategic engagement frameworks, these rankings serve as a starting point — to be validated and refined through direct engagement data from platforms like WeConvene.
| Sector | Analyst | Firm |
| Aerospace & Defence | Ben Fidler | Deutsche Bank |
| Autos and Automotive Components | Stuart Pearson | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Banks | Guillaume Tiberghien | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Beverages | Eamonn Ferry | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Capital Goods (inc. Eng & Mach) | Ben Uglow | Morgan Stanley |
| Chemicals | Paul Walsh | Morgan Stanley |
| Construction & Building Materials | Paul Roger | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Food Manufacturers | Jeff Stent | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Forestry, Paper & Packaging | Lars Kjellberg | Credit Suisse |
| Household Products & Personal Care | Jeff Stent | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Insurance | Jon Hocking | Morgan Stanley |
| Leisure, Entertainment & Hotels | Vicki Stern (Lee) | Barclays |
| Luxury Goods | Luca Solca | Exane BNP Paribas |
| MedTech & Services | Julien Dormois | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Metals & Mining | Menno Sanderse | Morgan Stanley |
| Oil & Gas | Martijn Rats | Morgan Stanley |
| Oil Services | Robert Pulleyn | Morgan Stanley |
| Pharmaceuticals & Biotech | Richard Vosser | J. P. Morgan |
| Real Estate | Valérie Guezi-Jacob | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Retailers (Food) | Edouard Aubin | Morgan Stanley |
| Retailers (Non-Food) | Simon Bowler | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Software & IT Services | Michael Briest | UBS |
| Speciality & Other Finance | Arnaud Giblat | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Support & Business Services | Toby Reeks | Morgan Stanley |
| Telcos. Equip./IT Hardware & Semis | Jérôme Ramel | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Telecommunications Services | San Dhillon | Exane BNP Paribas |
| Transport | Mark Manduca | Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
| Utilities | Sofia Savvantidou | Exane BNP Paribas |
The rankings only tell one part of the story though, when we took a look at the comments that investors left against the most highly rated analysts, a clear theme emerged as to why they are so highly valued. “Client focused”, “Delivers actionable ideas”, “Understands the thematic and structural changes within the industry” and “Provides differentiated analysis compared with peers” stood out as the feedback that was consistently attributed to the leading analysts.
Although the above list of analysts is a select and well known group, there are many others that are equally valued by investors and by focusing more time on pinpointing and strengthening relationships with this group, as opposed to using valuable resources trying to ensure the widest possible coverage, IR teams have a better chance of making sure they are aligned with the analysts who will still be around as the MiFID II fallout continues.
Translating Analyst Rankings into IR Strategy
Understanding which analysts rank highest is only the first step. IR teams must translate these insights into actionable engagement strategies. This means allocating disproportionate time and attention to Tier 1 analysts, providing them with differentiated access to management, and measuring whether these investments generate improved investor targeting outcomes.
For issuers using WeConvene’s corporate access platform, these relationships can be managed systematically — tracking interaction frequency, meeting quality, and downstream investor engagement that results from analyst coverage. This data-driven approach ensures IR teams can demonstrate the ROI of their analyst engagement program and continuously refine their targeting.
As the research landscape continues evolving post-MiFID II, the analysts who survive will be those investors consistently rate as worth paying for. IR teams that build strong relationships with these analysts today position themselves for sustained visibility in an increasingly selective coverage environment. For more on the regulatory context driving these changes, see our updated analysis of MiFID II’s impact in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Analyst alignment should be based on influence with investors, not simply coverage volume — focus on analysts buy-side firms value enough to pay for.
- Industry surveys like Extel provide external benchmarks for analyst quality, validated through direct engagement data from corporate access platforms.
- IR teams should build tiered engagement strategies that allocate resources proportional to analyst influence on investment decisions.
- MiFID II has reduced overall coverage, making strategic alignment with surviving high-value analysts critical for mid-cap and small-cap visibility.
- WeConvene’s analytics enable data-driven analyst relationship management by tracking engagement outcomes and investor response patterns.
Use qualitative resources like the Extel Survey, which polls thousands of buy-side professionals on which sell-side analysts they value most. Combine survey data with quantitative signals from your corporate access platform — track which analysts generate the highest meeting acceptance rates, investor attendance, and follow-up engagement. WeConvene provides these analytics as part of its corporate access workflow.
Alignment with influential analysts ensures your company’s story reaches the investors most likely to take action. A single highly-valued analyst whose research drives institutional investment decisions delivers more shareholder program value than multiple analysts whose coverage generates little buy-side response. Post-MiFID II, only analysts investors pay for will survive — alignment with these survivors is essential.
Track meeting acceptance rates for analyst-arranged events, monitor whether analyst coverage changes correlate with trading volume shifts, measure investor attendance quality (are target investors engaging?), and assess whether analyst interactions generate new investor relationships. Corporate access platforms like WeConvene provide these metrics through integrated engagement analytics.
MiFID II’s research unbundling forced asset managers to explicitly pay for research, creating budget pressure that disproportionately affects coverage of smaller companies. Many mid-cap and small-cap issuers have lost 30-50% of their analyst coverage since implementation. This makes strategic alignment with remaining high-value analysts critical for maintaining market visibility.
WeConvene’s platform connects issuers with both sell-side analysts and buy-side investors, providing data on which analyst interactions generate the most investor engagement. IR teams use WeConvene to schedule analyst meetings, track engagement outcomes, and identify which analyst relationships deliver measurable value to their investor targeting programs.
