She said Sharesies wanted to help bridge the gap and provide another option for companies wanting to list and connect with retail investors.
"We are talking to quite a few companies at the moment that are looking to list in the next 12 to 18 months. A lot of them are growth companies. We have got a reasonable understanding of our base and what sorts of industries and companies they might be interested in - so we take that lens to it."
Batley said technology and high-growth industries were popular with Sharesies' 600,000 users, as well as consumer-facing companies.
"Consumer-facing industries are also widely held across the Sharesies base so companies that they [Sharesies investors] might be a customer of. They understand the business model can be quite attractive."
Batley, a former investment banker with Cameron Partners, said Sharesies could help businesses looking to reach retail investors.
"Sharesies can add a lot of value because it is all about that PR and profile-building as you are coming up to listing."
She believes next year will be a better one for companies coming to market.
"We are in discussions with quite a few that are seriously looking at it next year.
"We are also seeing a lot of companies consider the direct listing route."
That means they don't raise capital at the time of listing, but can do so three months later. It's an option that means a company can avoid choppy periods and raise capital when the market is more positive.
Rights issues
This is not Sharesies' first foray into areas usually covered by traditional broking houses.
Batley says the investment platform has also become more involved in rights offers this year, as more companies use such schemes to raise capital in a way that is fairer to all shareholders.
"With rights offers you can have a shortfall at the end and that is typically covered by a bookbuild where the price is set by institutional investors."
But now Sharesies is able to participate as an institutional investor on behalf of its members.
"We have built the technology so all Sharesies investors can put in their maximum price as well as their volume, so we can aggregate across all of that and now for the first time Sharesies retail investors are helping to set that price as well rather than being a price taker."
Batley said that was a game-changer for retail investors.
Large institutional investors also get regular access to chief executives and board chairs but that is much harder for smaller investors.
However Batley said Sharesies was enabling that access through webinars with CEOs.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran fronted up to answer investors' questions during its capital raising.
"Similarly for the ANZ rights offer, we had the managing director of ANZ Group Shayne Elliott on a webinar.
"These companies, they want to do that. They really do want to get in front of retail investors. That is where Sharesies can be that partner."
Batley said there was very strong appetite from its users for the capital raises.
"We have seen them really engage with the offers. With Air NZ we got a lot of questions coming through ... particularly at the beginning as they were grappling with the offer.
"It was fantastic to see them really get to grips with it."
Moved on from '87 crash?
Batley said it appeared younger generations were moving on from the negativity associated with shares after the 1987 crash.
"I think more and more we are talking about money and investing as an everyday thing and not taboo. I grew up with a lot of my friends' parents talking about the '87 crash and it was very negative.
"I think we have changed that conversation, which is really encouraging. There is still a lot of work to go, which is why we continue to very heavily invest in education so that it really is accessible."
The share markets have been in for a rough ride this year, and this week delivered another major meltdown as US markets reacted strongly to high inflation.
Batley said despite the volatility, Sharesies was not seeing big selldowns or withdrawals from investors.
"We are seeing slightly lower amounts being invested."
She said some investors were selling high-growth, highly volatile stocks and moving into more defensive stocks.
"We are seeing investors look at their portfolio and make rebalancing adjustments."
AGM voting
Sharesies also announced this week that for the first time it would offer its users the ability to vote online on proposals put forward by NZX-listed companies in which they own shares.
Until now the custodial model used by the online trading company has meant that its users couldn't vote on resolutions put forward at company annual general meetings.
Sharesies holds investors' money and investments "on bare trust", which means its nominee company holds shares on an investor's behalf.
