Annual General Meetings (AGMs) have mostly been on my mind over the last few days, as I happened to have four of them this week (I skipped Remedyâs, because who heads to Espoo for 9 a.m. 
). However, it is one of the duties of a âmasterâ to visit on-site regularly to see how the portfolio companies are really doing and what the atmosphere is like at the meeting venue.
I have surely advertised the catering to the point of boredom in the relevant threads, as one of my messages was even quoted in the meme thread . So, letâs instead discuss the behavior of management during the meetingsâsome of them are masters in their own fields, at least. It makes a great impression when the companyâs CEO is near the entrance to greet arriving shareholders; tactically, of course, the spot should be carefully chosen, because at least my gaze first focuses on the registration desk and finding the first letter of my last name (for those who have never attended an AGM, in larger meetings, the registration desk is divided into alphabetical ranges like A-H, I-P, etc., to prevent queuing and generally improve flow). Excellent examples of those who personally welcome meeting guests are the CEO of the forum favorite Inderes, @Mikael_Rautanen, and former Orion CEO Timo Lappalainen, who was in the lobby of the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre greeting arriving shareholders. If there is only one entrance to the actual meeting hall, a strategically good spot for the CEO is the immediate vicinity of the doorway; this was followed by, among others, the outgoing CEO of Raisio, @Pekka_Kuusniemi. Elisaâs new CEO, Topi Manner, on the other hand, was talking to a company employee near the entrance of the coffee service area, at least when I happened to walk past. Here, though, a clear âsecurity person tacticâ was usedâmeaning there was conversation company so they didnât have to stand alone. Unfortunately, the first observation of a CEO is often when they stand up from the front row and climb onto the stage to give their review. It is an unwritten duty of the host to welcome the guests. Since the task of shaking hands would be endless and not necessarily appropriate in this world plagued by infectious diseases, a strong and visible presence serves the same purpose.
The Chairman of the Board usually delivers the opening remarks of the meeting with dignity from the lectern, but in my opinion, the CEO should move around the stage a bit during their presentation, if only for the sake of audience interest. Of course, the standard doesnât need to be at the level of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WW2JWIv6G8&t=8s A good stage performer was, for example, former Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECiQVYtz-L4, whose hand movements and fluid motion on stage were practically hypnotic.
Companies where the management âsuitsâ form a tight discussion circle before and after the meeting should be avoided. Last year, I visited Bittiumâs meeting in Oulu, and there I thought I noticed the kind of behavior mentioned above. However, an AGM is often the only place where a private investor can come into contact with the companyâs management. A tight circle apparently effectively prevents retail investors from approaching, or at least requires more than the usual amount of civic courage to slip into the circle .
This spring, I have waded through seven AGMs, and as it stands, the behavior of the CEOs of four more companies at the meeting venues will be under my critical gaze 
I do realize that I am in a privileged position to be able to arrange my schedule for this kind of activity, and the average forum member likely faces time constraints that prevent them from attending meetings other than remotely; in that case, unfortunately, one misses out on the atmosphere and many other noteworthy small details at the venue itself. However, I definitely encourage attending at least one AGM per year if possible. I have often used the Stockmann (now Lindex) 2018 AGM as an example; the shareholders were like sheep walking to the slaughter, and the management explained things away as best they couldâno one except me even seemed to ask questions after the CEOâs review. I sold my shares immediately after the meeting at a price of over four euros, and later they could be bought for less than a euro.
I wrote in this thread because itâs probably good to keep this one alive too. Personally, Iâm even slightly against this Forum Master title. It might give new forum members the wrong impression of a personâs investment skills; well, it is a matter of trust level, so I suppose the possibility of a misunderstanding isnât very large .
