#BizTrends2025: 6 investor relations trends to watch in 2025

Source: Supplied. Marc Ashton, chief executive officer of Decusatio.

As businesses reposition for growth and investors regain their appetite for opportunity, we’re entering a pivotal moment where bold transactions, equity raises and strategic mergers will define the landscape in 2025.

For investor relations teams, the start of the year offers a unique opportunity to shape narratives, rebuild trust and strengthen connections with a reinvigorated shareholder base.

Here are six key trends to watch as the year begins:

New listings reaching the JSE and (potentially) the CTSE

While the de-listing trend remains a global worry, we often forget that emerging markets such as India (268 IPOs in 2024) and China (101 IPOs) are still seeing healthy action in their capital markets.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) could potentially see Coca-Cola Bottling (Africa), Fidelity ADT and Tyme Bank list in the coming years.

The Johannesburg bourse, under Leila Fourie also deserves some credit for its innovation including the Enterprise Accelerator, the SME Capital Matching initiatives as well as the Private Placements market, the fast-track listing project which has already added two international listings in December 2024.

With its limited broker network, the Cape Town Stock Exchange (CTSE) has battled to attract listings but is doing some interesting things in the infrastructure and impact space.

A secondary market for infrastructure projects

With their predictable cashflows and transformative social impact, infrastructure projects have become one of the most talked about asset classes.

A challenge for this asset class has long been an exit mechanism for initial or early-stage investors and this has limited the investor pool available to participate in these projects.

The development of secondary markets to create some liquidity to allow new and existing players the ability to exit more freely is an ongoing industry decision and this may see more infrastructure projects being listed on bourses.

Innovation around shareholder voting and registry

Lazard, the global financial services and research business releases research into the rise of shareholder activism – something which has been on the rise since 2020 across the globe.

With more retail investor participation in markets, events like AGMs are no longer just rubber stamps for the executives. One of the challenges has been that attendance and voting at an AGM is quite a high friction process and many investors simply don’t vote.

This is an area where the CTSE has developed an innovative offering to allow investors to actively manage this process and vote at the click of a button.

Rise of owned assets to support shareholder engagement

The business media landscape in South Africa remains under significant pressure with many of the traditional “tier 1” assets struggling with business models. This – coupled with the fact that less than 15% of the JSE has formal coverage – means that businesses looking to secure superior valuations are going to need to innovate around how they engage shareholder bases.

Cognisant of these challenges, Investor Relations teams are going to have to review their owned assets and look for innovative ways to connect with shareholders.

Private equity, alternative assets and … maybe the Springboks?

With the JSE appearing to be moving toward more compelling valuations, there are a number of potential private equity exits on the horizon including Virgin Active, Primedia, and Rain.

While in its infancy, the JSE is also showing some innovation through the development of its Private Placement market mentioned earlier.

Alternative assets – which have typically been outside of the ambit of retail investors - have also sparked some interest. None more so than a potential deal touted by Altvest and EasyEquities to offer the opportunity to invest in the Springboks.

More capital and energy in the venture capital space

According to the 2024 South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) the domestic Venture Capital asset class had R10.73bn invested in 1,106 active deals, an increase of 17.8% or R1.62bn compared to the previous year. On top of this, there was over R1bn of undeployed funding available for further deals.

With investors looking to connect with entrepreneurs, compelling pitch decks and storytelling will be key.

With a dynamic landscape unfolding, the ability to communicate strategy, performance, and purpose will be critical in capturing the confidence of both local and international investors.

The stage is set for an exciting and transformative year — one where Investor Relations can truly shine as a strategic driver of corporate success.