Investor Relations

Investor Relations (IR) is a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company's securities achieving fair valuation. (Adopted by the NIRI Board of Directors, March 2003.) The term describes the department of a company devoted to handling inquiries from shareholders and investors, as well as others who might be interested in a company's stock or financial stability.

Typically investor relations are a department or person reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Treasurer. In some companies, investor relations are managed by the public relations or corporate communications departments, and can also be referred to as "financial public relations" or "financial communications". Investor relations are considered a specialty of public relations by the U.S. Department of Labor. (Month. "Public Relations Managers and Specialists: Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Management/Public-relations-managers-and-specialists.htm>.)

Dealing with the investment community is extremely difficult. It requires mastery of a variety of communication vehicles, including road shows, earnings releases, press releases, annual reports, fact sheets, and more. In addition, one must know how to deal with investment bankers, brokers, institutional investors, and retail investors. To make things more difficult, all communications are subject to strict disclosure requirements. Running an Effective Investor Relations Department addresses all of these issues and many more, including blue sky laws, short sellers, proxy solicitations, and metrics. (Bragg, Steven . "Investor Relations Book - AccountingTools." Accounting Books & CPE - AccountingTools. Accounting Tools.com, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. <http://www.accountingtools.com/book-investor-relations>.

 

The following are some of the major duties that are to be performed by any one occupies the Investor Relations Officer :

Develops and maintains a company investor relations plan 

Performs a comprehensive competitive analysis, including financial metrics and differentiation.

Develops and monitors performance metrics for the investor relations function

Establishes the optimum type and mix of shareholders, and creates that mix through a variety of targeting initiatives.

Monitors operational changes through ongoing contacts with company management, and develops investor relations messages based on these changes.

Provides Regulation Fair Disclosure training to all company spokespersons.

Creates presentations, press releases,  and other communication materials for earnings releases, industry events, and presentations to analysts, brokers, and investors.

Oversees the production of all annual reports, SEC filings, and proxy statements.

Manages the investor relations portion of the company web site.

Monitors analyst reports and summarizes them for senior management.

Serves as the key point of contact for the investment community.

Establishes and maintains relationships with stock exchange representatives.

Organizes conferences, road shows, earnings conference calls, and investor meetings.

Provides feedback to management regarding the investment community's perception of the company.

Represents the views of the investor community to the management team in the development of corporate strategy.

Provides feedback to the management team regarding the impact of stock repurchase programs or dividend changes on the investment community. 

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