AI, Algos and Asymmetry: Five Lessons from the 2026 AIRA Annual Conference

The sight of a near-capacity Sheraton Grand Ballroom for the 2026 AIRA Annual Conference is undoubtedly a sign of the times, as Investor Relations Officers (IROs) grapple with the shifting sands of AI and unprecedented market volatility. 

Discussions ranged from the rise of AI in capital markets and the trading mechanics of quant funds, to the widening gap between investor expectations and companies’ ability to credibly deliver, and the tools both sides are using to narrow that gap.

Below we examine the key themes from the event and what they mean in practice for companies, boards and advisors.

Lesson 1: The AI Paradox for Investor Relations

For Investor Relations, as for almost every part of the economy, AI is clearly dominating the agenda. However, most people are still working out where the real risks and benefits lie. Even algorithm-driven investors, including quant funds, still rely upon human judgment in their investment processes. That reinforces, rather than diminishes, the importance of core IR disciplines - transparency, clarity and consistency of communication – across all engagements and public materials.

IR teams are already using AI agents to prepare AGM Q&A and prompt directors in real time using platforms such as AlphaSense. Investors are doing the same in reverse, generating questions for their 1-1s and cross-referencing what management said in previous meetings. Companies should now assume every public statement will be tested against history in real time, and advisors must prepare clients accordingly.

Fund managers are increasingly using proprietary AI inputs to generate alpha; however the democratization of real-time information is intensifying the market’s focus on short-term earnings movements at the expense of long-term strategy, a significant challenge for companies to navigate.

Lesson 2: Cutting Through the Quarterly Noise for Long-Term Investors

Two of Australia's largest superannuation funds, Aware Super and AusSuper, provided refreshingly candid views from the asset owner's chair. They prefer out-of-cycle meetings, which tend to be more focused on long-term strategy and free cash flow generation, rather than the next quarterly print.

Most meetings feature both ESG and equities teams given their integrated approach and given how much information they are required to process, IR teams were urged to keep materials succinct and focused on what is genuinely relevant.

One point that deserves the attention of remuneration committees: a recurring reason for exiting a position is misalignment between executive remuneration and stated strategy, or a perceived gap between board and management thinking. Consistency between what a company says and how it pays its leaders is interpreted as a strong governance signal.

Lesson 3: What Boards Want from Their IR Function

Experienced Board directors offered a useful reality check from the boardroom. Their central message: if the board believes the strategy is right, long-term conviction matters more than short-term market reactions, so management teams should stick to their guns. Interestingly, they were also equally clear that the asymmetry between investor expectations and companies’ ability to realistically deliver has never been wider.

That makes the IRO role absolutely critical — not just for relaying market sentiment, but identifying the gap between strategy and investor expectations, helping the board understand why investors might currently prefer a competitor, or how the market is likely to react before an announcement is made. Guiding directors on when and why they need to spend time directly with investors was flagged as a core and often underestimated part of the role.

Lesson 4: Consensus Management in a Volatile Market

The common view from IROs is that guessing market reactions is a mug’s game, and given how severely the market punishes a miss, time is better spent on ensuring the numbers align with market expectations.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) was also clear that companies need to remain rigorous in documenting how they arrived at their view of performance against market expectations, especially with the prospect of being issued with an Aware letter. IROs, therefore, are being judged less on the share price reaction to an announcement, but on the integrity of the process behind it.

Lesson 5: Decoding the Quant Playbook

So why are the markets whipsawing so much on reporting day? Different panels of fund managers and brokers threw some revealing light on the machinations of daily trading.

The quants, like all other investors are fundamentals-driven, just more systematized: they assess the same underlying drivers as any active manager, just through models rather than direct engagement, and over a notably shorter horizon. They reward clean, transparent reporting with minimal accruals, a clear and consistent narrative, and high-quality management albeit this is rarely tested directly unless a material governance issue arises.

But they aren’t the ones driving the big moves early in the day – that is the preserve of the hedge funds and retail investors, especially when short positions must be covered. The high-frequency trading (HFT) funds then get in on the action, exacerbating early trends, but it’s more a case of trimming around the edges and their penchant is for stocks with high passive ownership. 

The quants tend only to get involved from around lunchtime on an announcement day and often trade more on subsequent days based on EPS consensus updates. As for the active managers, they take up the graveyard shift post market close, where there is more liquidity and the HFT funds can’t amplify their trades.

Regardless, what was evident from the data is that volatility on announcement days is the new normal, and corporates should allow a few days for share prices to settle.

That’s a Wrap

So, cutting through all the noise, the underlying message for boards, management teams and IROs is remarkably simple – there is no substitute for transparent, and clear and consistent market communication. Keep it simple, no surprises, and if you believe in what you’re doing, keep going. The rest will take care of itself over time.