The survey was conducted last year by Greenwich Associates—a business-consulting services firm based in Greenwich, Conn.—to help the NYSE understand key investor views and issues surrounding U.S. listings of non-U.S. companies.

“The survey confirmed what we have long suspected. The degree and quality of a company’s financial disclosure and reporting are significant factors in the decision-making process of U.S. investors,” said Noreen M. Culhane, head of the NYSE Global Corporate Client Group.

The survey polled primarily portfolio fund managers at both small and large institutions.  All of the respondents played a significant role in the investment decision-making process, with 40 percent acting as primary decision-makers. The respondents had an average of $4.8 billion of assets under management, $3.4 billion of which were invested in non-U.S. companies.  Overall they invested 48 percent in listed or registered American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, and 46 percent directly in home markets. 

More than eight in 10 respondents said they saw value in a U.S. listing of a non-U.S. company. The sentiment was especially strong among investors with less than $2 billion in assets under management.  More than nine in 10 of the smaller investors surveyed responded that a U.S. listing is valuable. The respondents largely attributed the value to greater disclosure and accounting.

The majority of the respondents (70 percent) said they preferred investing in companies with an SEC registration, with smaller investors all saying they preferred them. Of the 77 polled, 57 percent relied more on the generally accepted accounting principles of the United States—or U.S. GAAP—than on the accounting principles of local markets. Nearly half (49 percent) preferred to trade shares of non-U.S. companies on U.S. exchanges through ADRs or foreign listings rather than directly in the home markets.  Smaller investors in particular favored trading on U.S. exchanges because it’s more convenient.  More than three in four of the smaller investors (78 percent) said they preferred U.S. exchanges over local markets. 

The survey offered insights for companies thinking about listing in—or delisting from—markets in the United States.  Almost one-third of the investors polled said they valued an additional U.S. listing for non-U.S. companies, even when they invested in those companies in their local markets.  Larger investors especially valued the additional U.S. listing, with 42 percent saying so. 

Companies thinking about de-registering from U.S. markets should think twice before doing so, according to the survey results.  More than half of the respondents (55 percent) said that de-registration has a negative impact on their decisions to invest. Nearly one-third cautioned companies not to de-register, with almost half of the smaller investors (46 percent) cautioning companies not to do so. 

For more information about the survey, contact Theresa Molloy at 212-656-2848.