Issuers compared with MZ Group

MZ Group alternative and MZ Group pricing compared for IR teams

Issuers is an MZ Group alternative for US small and micro caps that want to bring their IR website, investor CRM, ownership tracking and disclosure approvals in house on software. The Public plan includes the hosted IR website for $1,499 a month billed yearly at $17,988 per year, or $2,999 month to month. MZ Group sells consulting and investor outreach, so keep an agency scope if you need people to arrange introductions, roadshows or financial media coverage.

An IR director in an investor relations office arranging printed quarterly results

01 Retainer coverage

MZ Group retainer coverage and Issuers Public

A consulting retainer pays for people and services. A software subscription gives your own team the tools to run the work. Compare the responsibilities before comparing the invoices.

MZ agreement example, $12,500 a month

People and planning: IR audit and a senior account manager.
Earnings communications: Earnings call scripts and press release support.
Investor records: Shareholder database management.
Outreach services: Roadshows, analyst and investor introductions, and financial media.
IR website: Design, hosting and maintenance on request.

Issuers Public, $17,988 a year

IR website: Hosted on ir.yourcompany.com, included in Public.
Investor records: CRM, meeting log for Reg FD review and targeting with a fit score.
Ownership tracking: Changes from 13F, 13D, 13G and Form 4.
Preparation and review: Meeting briefs, data rooms, earnings preparation and disclosure approvals with an audit trail.
Work your team owns: Content, investor follow up and approvals stay with your staff or retained advisers.

The MZ card summarizes the Banzai International agreement dated August 21, 2024, filed as 8-K exhibit 10.2. The cash retainer also carries restricted shares and a 5% cost of living increase at each anniversary. It is a disclosed contract example, not MZ pricing for every issuer. Issuers does not supply the account manager or outreach services shown on that card.

02 Comparison

MZ Group and Issuers side by side

Use this comparison to decide what your company should operate itself and what it should still buy from an agency. A feature list cannot replace a clear assignment of the work.

Comparison of Issuers and MZ Group
Topic	MZ Group	Issuers
Company	Investor relations consulting firm founded in Brazil with about 25 years of history. MZ says it has about 250 professionals, clients in 12 countries and more than 2,500 IR websites launched.	Investor relations software for issuers, available through self-service checkout.
What you buy	Consulting and investor outreach from MZ North America, with technology and other services depending on the agreed scope.	Software your team runs in house. Public includes a hosted IR website, investor CRM, ownership tracking, meeting briefs, data rooms, disclosure approvals and earnings preparation.
Published price	No published pricing. The Banzai agreement dated August 21, 2024 specifies $12,500 per month cash, a 5% increase at each anniversary and restricted shares.	Public is $2,999 month to month or $1,499 per month billed yearly at $17,988 per year, with the hosted IR website included.
Contract terms	The Banzai agreement has a six month initial term and automatic six month renewals unless either side gives 60 days notice. Check your own signed agreement.	Choose monthly or yearly billing at checkout. The yearly Public price is a software subscription, not an agency services retainer.
Who does the work	The Banzai services list includes an IR audit, senior account manager, earnings call scripts, press release support and shareholder database management.	Your CFO or IR lead runs the workspace, maintains investor records and coordinates review with counsel. Software does not supply an agency account team.
IR website	Group technology includes IR websites. The Banzai scope lists website design, hosting and maintenance on request. Confirm the deliverables in your agreement.	A hosted IR website on ir.yourcompany.com is included with Public. Your team loads content and handles page approvals.
CRM and ownership data	Group technology includes IR CRM and the US offer includes MZiQ market intelligence. Shareholder database management is named in the Banzai scope. Confirm data sources and export terms.	Investor CRM with a meeting log for Reg FD review, targeting with a fit score, and ownership changes from 13F, 13D, 13G and Form 4.
Disclosure approvals	The cited services list includes press release support. It does not establish a particular software approval workflow or audit trail. Ask which review records you can retain.	Disclosure approval workflow with an audit trail, alongside earnings preparation and the IR website. Your company remains responsible for review and approval.
Outreach and introductions	MZ is the better fit for agency work. The Banzai scope includes roadshows, analyst and investor introductions, and financial media.	Issuers does not make analyst introductions, book roadshows, pitch media or run investor outreach. Your team or a retained agency does that work.
How you start	Agree a consulting scope and retainer. Use your own proposal and signed agreement to establish services, fees and notice dates.	Use self-service checkout on the pricing page, with no sales call. The hero ticker form produces a sample investor brief from public SEC filings.

MZ North America also offers MZiQ market intelligence, IPO advisory, SPAC investor relations, PR and financial media. Group technology includes IR websites, IR CRM, EDGAR and iXBRL filings, and webcasts. Those services can matter beyond the website decision. Confirm the scope you actually use rather than assuming that software replaces every line in an agency proposal.

MZ company and service descriptions are based on its public sites, including mzgroup.us. Scale figures are self-reported by MZ. Contract examples come from the identified SEC filings and may differ from your agreement. Check current services and terms before making a decision.

03 Yearly cost

MZ Group alternative yearly cost worksheet

At the Banzai agreement rate, $12,500 x 12 = $150,000 in cash for the first year before the anniversary cost of living increase and restricted shares. This is an annual budget projection at that rate, not a claim that the initial commitment lasts a year. The disclosed initial term is six months with automatic six month renewals.

Issuers Public costs $17,988 per year billed yearly, equivalent to $1,499 per month. The month to month option is $2,999. That buys software including the hosted IR website, not a replacement account team. Your worksheet should include the internal time needed to maintain contacts, prepare materials, review disclosures and answer investors.

Other filings show why a single example is not a standard MZ rate. Global Star Acquisition reported in its FY2024 10-K a $10,000 monthly retainer, $5,000 from June 2024, and $14,000 set for after the business combination. Use those as disclosed context and budget from your own agreement.

First year budget worksheet

MZ example monthly cash: $12,500
Monthly cash x 12: $150,000
Anniversary increase: 5%
Restricted shares: value separately
Issuers Public, billed yearly: $17,988
Internal IR work: your staffing budget
Optional agency outreach: your revised proposal

A smaller MZ scope alongside Issuers

A hybrid budget adds the $17,988 Public subscription, your internal IR staffing and a separately negotiated agency scope for outreach. Ask MZ to price the work you still want, such as introductions or roadshows, while your team operates the site and CRM. No published figure establishes what that smaller scope would cost. Compare the revised proposal with your current agreement and include any overlap during the move. See Issuers pricing for the software billing options.

04 Moving in house

Moving the IR website and investor database in four steps

Start with the contract and a written handover plan. The goal is to have approved pages and a clear owner for investor communications before the agency scope changes.

1

Confirm notice and renewal dates

Read your signed agreement with counsel and give notice by its deadline. In the Banzai example, either side must give 60 days notice before the six month renewal. Do not wait until the final 60 days to begin planning. Confirm receipt and the service end date in writing.
2

Export investor records and content

Request the investor database, contact history, meeting notes, site pages, releases, reports, decks and governance documents. Inventory the live investor URLs and confirm who controls the ir subdomain. Check export rights and usable formats with the agency, and identify any records that need separate review.
3

Load and approve the pages

Load the site content and investor records into the new workspace. Have the IR lead, CFO and counsel review the pages, documents and disclosure approval workflow. Check that contact records and meeting notes are usable. Assign responsibility for incoming investor questions and earnings materials during the handover.
4

Point the ir subdomain and redirects

After approval, coordinate the DNS change for ir.yourcompany.com with whoever controls your domain. Map old investor URLs to the new pages and arrange 301 redirects where the old paths are served. Check links, documents and corporate navigation, then confirm which team handles the next release and investor reply.

Choose the cutover around your disclosure calendar rather than an assumed migration duration. Agree who will maintain the old site until the new pages have been checked. The hosted IR website and disclosure approval workflow belong in the same handover checklist so a domain change does not leave a release without an owner.

05 Agency value

When MZ Group is the better buy

You need people to open doors

MZ is the better fit when the assignment is to arrange analyst and investor introductions, organize roadshows and work with financial media. If reaching family offices is part of your objective, discuss that audience in the agency scope and ask what work is proposed. Issuers can help your team prepare and record meetings, but it does not provide introductions, book roadshows, pitch media or run outreach.

You have no internal IR staff

A company with no IR staff at all still needs someone to maintain its investor records, prepare communications and coordinate approvals. An agency retainer may be the better purchase when management needs people to perform that work. Before moving to software, name the internal owner and confirm that the CFO and counsel can support the review process. Buying a workspace does not create an IR function.

Judge the agency against the services you actually need. If the account team and outreach are central to your program, the consulting fee covers work that the software price does not. You can still discuss moving the website and records in house while keeping an agreed agency role.

06 Who it fits

MZ Group alternative software for a CFO or IR lead

Issuers fits a US small or micro cap whose CFO or IR lead is ready to own the operating work. If your website content, investor database and follow up history currently sit inside an agency, decide which records and responsibilities should move into a company operated workspace. The Public plan brings the hosted site together with the CRM, ownership changes and disclosure review process.

The practical test is whether someone on your team will keep records current and act on them. A meeting log supports Reg FD review when the team records what was discussed. Ownership changes from public filings give the IR lead information to review. Targeting with a fit score and meeting briefs support preparation, while your staff or retained agency remains responsible for deciding whom to contact and making that contact.

Start with the ticker form above to read a sample investor brief built from public SEC filings. Then review the investor relations CRM, confirm the Public billing option and use self-service checkout when you are ready. No sales call is required. If you are still comparing website models, the B2i alternative and Equisolve alternative pages cover those separate website offers.

Questions

MZ Group alternative questions from CFOs and IR leads

What is a good alternative to MZ Group?

Issuers is a good MZ Group alternative for a US small or micro cap bringing its IR website, investor CRM, ownership tracking and disclosure approvals in house. Public costs $17,988 per year billed yearly. Your team operates the software. Keep agency support if you still need analyst introductions, roadshows, financial media or investor outreach.

How much does MZ Group charge for investor relations?

MZ Group does not publish pricing, but the Banzai agreement dated August 21, 2024 lists $12,500 per month cash plus restricted shares and a 5% increase at each anniversary. Global Star Acquisition reported $10,000 monthly, $5,000 from June 2024 and $14,000 after the business combination. These are agreement examples, not a universal rate card.

Does MZ Group build IR websites?

Yes, MZ Group offers IR websites as part of its technology services, and MZ says it has launched more than 2,500. The Banzai agreement lists IR website design, hosting and maintenance on request. Confirm what your own scope includes and how you can export content. Issuers Public includes a hosted IR website operated by your team.

Can we keep MZ Group for outreach and use Issuers for the IR website and CRM?

Yes, you can propose that split, subject to agreeing a revised scope with MZ Group. Issuers Public covers the hosted IR website, CRM, ownership tracking and disclosure approval workflow, while MZ can handle the outreach you retain. Document responsibilities for meeting notes, investor records, releases and page approvals so each party knows who owns the next action.

How do we end an MZ Group retainer without a gap in investor communications?

Start with your signed notice terms and prepare the replacement site before the agency service ends. The Banzai example requires 60 days notice before a six month renewal. Export contacts and content, approve the new pages, then coordinate the ir subdomain and 301 redirects. Assign responsibility for releases and investor replies throughout the handover.

MZ Group alternative software for your IR team

Enter your ticker for a sample investor brief from public SEC filings. Public includes the hosted IR website at $1,499 a month billed yearly, or $2,999 month to month. Start through self-service checkout with no sales call.

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