IR STRATEGY Sandra Novakov, Head of Investor Relations at
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (CDR), wrote in the preface to the CDR 14th Annual Global IR Survey, “IROs find investors preoccupied with macroeconomic and geo- political developments at the expense of fundamental analysis. When investors are ready to take notice of company fundamentals once again, they will find management teams eager to share their newly refined investment cases and board chairs willing to give up more time than ever before to meet with investors to discuss governance matters.” Because of this trend, the need to prepare board
members to speak directly to investors is much more prevalent, along with the associated disclosure risks. Gregg LaBar, Senior Managing Director at Dix
& Eaton, says, “The distraction of outside stories such as the supply chain disruption has investors clamoring for color and context, making it harder to focus on company performance. Tese stories are all interconnected. Social media also has a bigger role today, and it is a reminder that you are talking to every stakeholder all the time. It’s a bigger chal- lenge than ever.” “Tere is more demand for dynamic storytelling,”
says Evan Pondel, IRC, CEO of Triunfo Partners. “Virtual and hybrid meetings have created more requests for video tours of facilities, for example. I have even seen CEOs use Tik Tok to tell stories. Tere is also more internal exchange between IR and com- munications, which is good.”
ESG Activism Continues In response to increasing investor demands, IROs continue to monitor and report ESG metrics and strive to earn positive reviews from ratings agencies, while awaiting a final SEC rule on climate change reported expected in early 2023. “Te increase in ESG-related questions from the
buy side is notable, particularly during corporate governance outreach,” Venning says. “Senior man- agement and board members now see how much interest there is out there and how important ESG is to proxy voting.” “ESG is here to stay,” says Stroud. “Changes in
societal expectations and government policy have placed ESG at the forefront for institutional investors
1 6 WI N T E R 2 0 2 3 ■ IR UPDAT E
“ESG has been a big challenge and a positive driver of change. We established a director of sustainability a couple years ago who reports into the investor relations function, helping us make strong progress on our journey."
- Michael Steele, CFA, IRC, Vice President, Investor Relations at Zebra Technologies Corporation
and publicly traded companies in recent years. In doing so, we have seen the responsibilities of IROs expand to include tackling ESG disclosure require- ments, leading the creation of ESG and sustainability reports, and articulating the company’s ESG position and strategy to investors.” Michael Steele, CFA, IRC, Vice President, Investor
Relations at Zebra Technologies Corporation, believes “ESG has been a big challenge and a positive driver of change. We established a director of sustainabil- ity a couple years ago who reports into the investor relations function, helping us make strong progress on our journey. Many companies are early with ESG metrics, particularly for use in executive compensa- tion. Most companies need to evaluate what makes sense for them—it has to align with the company’s strategy and purpose. Most investors realize that and they are looking to companies to define how is it relevant. Companies also have to enhance ESG processes and procedures so they are ready as the SEC finalizes new ESG disclosure rules.” Pieter JFG van Dyck, CEO of Capital Market Fin-
tech CMDportal, explains, “Te goal of IR must be to ensure the investment community has an in-depth
ni ri .org/ irupdate
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
