This looks like a good idea. This company provides information on participating in earnings conference calls. Jeff
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BestCalls.com Launches Internet's First Online Directory of Investor Conference Calls
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Story Filed: Monday, March 22, 1999 10:04 AM EST
LOS GATOS, CALIF. (March 22) BUSINESS WIRE -March 22, 1999--
Free Web Site Allows Investors to Post and Access Investor Conference Call Schedules for Thousands of Companies
BestCalls.com today launched the Internet's first online directory of investor conference calls. The new site, which is located at bestcalls.com, tracks conference call schedules for thousands of publicly traded companies. The site allows online investors to create personalized conference call tracking portfolios and provides access to investor conference call phone numbers, passcodes, replay information, links to audiocasts, and articles. The site is free to all, and is designed for investors, investor relations professionals, industry analysts and media.
"BestCalls is to conference calls what TV Guide is to television," said Mark Coker, founder and president of BestCalls.com. "We tell our members what's playing when, and how to tune in."
"Earnings conference calls offer investors a wealth of research information they can't find anywhere else," continued Coker. "For years, conference calls were only open to Wall Street analysts and professional investors. Now, many companies are actively encouraging conference call participation among individual investors."
BestCalls will appeal to the increasing number of individual investors who trade online and make their own investment decisions. According to International Data Corporation, there will be 14.4 million online brokerage accounts by the end of year 2000, up from just 3.5 million in 1997. Exclusive CallTracker Feature Provides Free, Personalized Conference Call Tracking
BestCalls has developed automated conference call tracking technology called "CallTracker" that allows BestCalls members to track the schedules of conference calls they want to attend. Members simply type in the stock symbols and CallTracker will automatically alert them via email prior to the start of each call, at time intervals specified by the member. Like all BestCalls services, CallTracker is free to members. BestCalls Provides Quick and Easy Access to Conference Call Information
The BestCalls database will track conference call schedules for thousands of publicly traded companies. BestCalls members will contribute the majority of conference call scheduling content on the site.
"BestCalls relies upon the active participation of our members to update the database," added Mark Coker. "BestCalls is the Internet's first online financial information service maintained by volunteer members, all of whom share a common interest in promoting conference call participation."
In addition to providing conference call schedules, BestCalls has partnered with some of the industry's leading financial data providers to supply BestCalls members with a wealth of free information designed to improve the value of their conference call participation. The site provides access to Securities and Exchange Commission filings via a co-branding partnership with EDGAR Online; interactive charting via a partnership with BigCharts; and quotes, fundamental data and insider transaction tracking via a partnership with MarketGuide (Nasdaq:MARG). BestCalls Portal Provides Links to over 100 Useful Investment Sites and Services
BestCalls features the BestCalls Portal, an index of over 100 of the Internet's most useful online destinations for conference call participants and sponsors. The portal is divided into sections for investors and investor relations professionals. BestCalls Helps Investors Better Manage Their Investments
For years, institutional investors have relied upon quarterly earnings conference calls as a primary research tool. The calls are an important research tool because they offer investors an opportunity to speak directly with the top management of publicly held companies.
Whereas press releases, 10Qs and other financial statements provide essential analytical data, conference calls provide context. By combining analytical research with conference call attendance, investors can make more informed investment decisions.
Historically, very few individual investors have had the opportunity to attend conference calls. This limited participation rate is due to the fact that most individual investors have not been aware of what conference calls had to offer. And even for investors who have wanted to attend conference calls, tracking the schedules for multiple companies has always been a difficult, time consuming task. BestCalls will change all that. Investor Conference Calls Gain in Popularity
Earnings conference calls are an increasingly popular form of shareholder communications for publicly held companies. According to a 1998 survey conducted by the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), which examined conference call practices at publicly held companies, 83% of companies surveyed conducted earnings conference calls, up from 73% in 1996.
Many progressive publicly traded companies now allow individual investors to attend either their live conference calls or their replays. According to a non-scientific BestCalls survey of well known companies conducted earlier this month, the following is a small sampling of companies that invite individual investors to their calls: 3Com (Nasdaq:COMS), Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN), America Online (NYSE:AOL), Ameritrade (Nasdaq:AMTD), Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT), Bell Atlantic (NYSE:BEL), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO), CMP Media (Nasdaq:CMPX), Giga Information Group (Nasdaq: GIGX), InfoSeek (Nasdaq: SEEK), Intel (Nasdaq:INTC), Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU), Micron (Nasdaq:MU), Network Appliance (Nasdaq:NTAP), Network Associates (Nasdaq:NETA), Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL), Real Networks (Nasdaq:RNWK), Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:SUNW), and Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO). BestCallsOffers Educational Resources for Conference Call Attendees and Sponsors
Because BestCalls' mission is to promote responsible conference call participation, the site offers a library of educational articles for conference call participants and sponsors. Current articles include a glossary of conference call terms; a conference call primer; an article on why smart investors attend conference calls; and an interview with Mark Coker, founder of BestCalls. Future articles under development include how to set up a conference call; how to prepare a conference call script; and a case study series examining the conference call best practices of America's most admired investor relations departments. BestCalls Helps Publicly traded Companies Attract and Retain Investors
Just as BestCalls helps individual investors access conference calls, the service also helps publicly traded companies access individual investors.
Unlike institutional investors, who tend to turn over their stock holdings on a frequent basis, individual investors tend to hold stock long term. This fact, plus the fact that individual investors now control 59% of total stock assets, has caused many publicly held companies to step up efforts to attract and retain individual investors.
Conference calls offer companies an efficient means to communicate with a large number of current and potential shareholders. And by proactively inviting all investors to conference calls and conference call replays, companies can also avoid potential legal liabilities associated with selective disclosure.
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