companies to use “plain English” in their financial statements. The SEC also sought to “establish an


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IRupdate January 2002


Worth Talking About: Gaining Visibility for Small Caps


By Carol Metzker


Oprah, Geraldo, Larry King and . . . NIRI? Well, yes. On Oct. 25, NIRI presented the first in its series of Small Cap


Talk Shows, “Gaining Visibility for Your Company,” via conference call and webcast. While there were no participant brawls or audience riots, presenters delivered a lively interactive program to their 170-member audience, replete with a public service announcement from NIRI’s chapters and a break- ing special news report with a “small-cap storm warning.” The shows are one result of the work being done by the ad hoc Small- and Micro-Cap Advisory Group. The NIRI show hosts—Chet Popkowski, senior vice president and treasurer of National Service Industries, Inc.; Tabitha Zane, vice president of investor relations at SpectraSite Communications; and Sally Curley, director of investor relations at Genzyme Corporation—


held an information-packed and engaging one-hour conversation about seri- ous issues impacting small-cap companies today. Questions from the audience ranged from “how to” to “what is”: How do I reach retail shareholders? Are analysts and portfolio managers receptive to small- cap company initiatives right now? What is the value of advertising? The hosts, coming from different perspectives, debated answers, approaches and philosophies. With decades of investor relations experience among them, the practical knowledge they shared was vast. The underlying emphasis of the conversation was


how to gain visibility: How does a company attract analysts and buyers when market caps have tumbled and stock prices hover at levels too close to mini- mum listing requirements for comfort?


continued on pg 6


Building a


with


Management by Karen A.Warren


Bond


Has anyone in your company ever looked like a deer in headlights when you said, “I’m responsible for investor relations.” “For what?” might come the response. In fact, many employees at public compa- nies have no idea what investor relations is, let alone how you handle it. Does it matter? You bet it does. Is there a sys- tematic way to anoint the uninformed? Yes again.


This can be done through a creative and often simple educational program for employees, management and the board of directors. Today’s changing work envi- ronment offers a great opportunity to be in the vanguard on issues that are rele- vant to the company—Reg FD and crisis management are two that readily come to mind. Launching an educational pro- gram about the role of investor relations, best practices for communications and company responsibilities to the invest- ment community is one way to accom- plish this.


Over the course of 14 years at five dif- ferent companies, I have found that the


continued on pg 10


consumer reaction to those events, Chairman Pitt moved quickly to shore up investor and market confidence by making transparency a high priority,” Tompson said. SEC initiatives that year included us- ing technology to disclosure more mate- rial information in real time, encouraging higher-quality management discussion and analysis statements, allowing companies to use pro forma financial information as long as it was reconciled in news releases with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) information, and encouraging


niri.org/ irupdate


environment that encourages companies and auditors to seek SEC guidance on ac- counting issues in advance without fear that such inquiries will set companies up for enforcement actions. Tis would encourage companies to take corrective action be- fore mistakes are made that impact investors and pos- sibly employees’ life savings in their retirement funds,” according to Thompson’s column.


p


Small-Cap Visibility Te lead article in the January 2002 IR Update was “Gaining Visibility for Small Caps,” a topic that still res- onates today. Te article reported on what was the first in a series of NIRI “Small Cap Talk Shows” delivered


via conference call and webcast in October 2001. (Yes, webcasts existed in 2001!) Te show hosts (and their professional


positions at that time) were Chet Popkows- ki, Senior Vice President and Treasurer of National Service Industries, Inc.; Tabitha Zane, Vice President of Investor Relations at SpectraSite Communications; and Sally Curley, Director of Investor Relations at Genzyme Corporation. Both Curley and Zane are active today in NIRI, hold the Investor Relations Charter (IRC®) credential, and are NIRI Fellows.


Consider these key recommendations


they delivered: • Go after retail shareholders. Order registered shareholder lists and market directly to existing individual shareholders. Arrange an interview for your CEO with Te Wall Street Transcript, then add the reprint to your investor packet.


• Don’t abandon your institutional investors even if you are focusing more on retail investors. Know who they are and how to reach them.


• Persevere with analysts. Take advantage of conference openings when other companies drop out due to travel restrictions.


• Consider purchasing a service to identify 13F and non-13F investors and their characteristics. Target those investors who fit your company’s investor criteria.


• Promote insider buys! If your CEO and top management are using their own dollars to buy company stock, let everyone know.


• Aim for articles in trade publications and local newspapers. Reprints can be used for investor packets or as mailings to brokers and other potential investors.


• Leverage relationships! Don’t be bashful about asking for referrals from people you know—U.S. and European institutional holders, analysts, Nasdaq relationship managers or others. Ask your sell-side analysts to set up meetings with brokerage offices in their cities or to sponsor conferences.


Much of this still applies today. You


can read the entire January 2002 issue of IR Update at www.niri.org/NIRI/media/NIRI/ IRUpdates/IR-Update-January-2002.pdf. Watch for more historical perspective


in future “Past is Prologue” columns. If you have an old issue ofIR Update that you think is worth highlighting, contact IR Update Editor-in-Chief Al Rickard, CAE, at arickard@ niri.org or 703-402-9713. IR


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