The non-deal roadshow remains the highest-conversion corporate access format. NDRs put management directly in front of priority funds in concentrated 2-to-3 day clusters — with no competing keynotes, no group lunches, and no time-share pressure. This guide walks through how IR teams plan NDRs end-to-end, from city selection to follow-up.
Step 1: Pick the Right Cities
NDR city selection is a function of fund density and target relevance. The standard NDR circuit — New York, Boston, San Francisco, London — covers the bulk of global AUM. Specialty NDRs add Toronto, Edinburgh, Singapore, Hong Kong, or Chicago depending on shareholder base composition. WeConvene’s fund density heatmap shows AUM by metro for funds matching your style mandate.
Step 2: Choose Your Sell-Side Host
Most NDRs are hosted by a single sell-side firm with the strongest local relationships. The host firm books meetings, owns logistics, and provides analyst attendance. IR teams typically rotate hosts across the year — Morgan Stanley in NY, Stifel in Boston, JPMorgan in London — to maintain balanced sell-side relationships.
Step 3: Set Meeting Density
Standard NDR density is 7-to-9 meetings per day per executive: six 1-on-1s, one group lunch, and an introductory or wrap meeting. Above 9 meetings, fatigue degrades meeting quality. Below 6, the trip economics suffer. WeConvene’s NDR scheduling view shows meeting slots, travel times, and overlap warnings.
Step 4: Lock the Target List
The target list is the strategic core of the NDR. IR teams provide the sell-side host with a ranked list of 30-to-50 priority funds; the host books as many as availability allows. Tier 1 funds get priority meeting slots; Tier 2 fills remaining capacity. WeConvene tracks which target funds were offered, accepted, declined, or replaced.
Step 5: Brief Management
Management briefings should cover each fund’s AUM, mandate, current position (long, short, no position), prior meeting history, and 2-to-3 likely questions. WeConvene auto-generates briefing packets per meeting — pulling fund profile, holdings, and historical meeting notes.
Step 6: Post-NDR Follow-Up
The NDR’s ROI is realized in the 60-to-90 days after. IR teams track which funds initiated or grew positions, which raised follow-up questions, and which went silent. WeConvene attribution reporting links post-NDR ownership changes back to specific meetings — quantifying which NDRs delivered actual capital.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a non-deal roadshow?
A non-deal roadshow (NDR) is a multi-city investor meeting trip where company management meets with current and prospective shareholders — without an active capital markets transaction.
How many NDRs does a typical IR team run per year?
Mid-cap issuers typically run 6–14 NDR days per year, split across 3–6 trips covering major investor metros.
Who pays for an NDR?
The hosting sell-side firm typically covers logistics costs (meeting space, ground transport for managed schedule) as a service to the corporate client. The issuer covers management travel.