| Press Release | Source:
Marketwire |
Marketwire Continues Partnership With IR Magazine; 6th Annual UK and 4th Annual NY Think Tanks Engage Senior IROs in Best Practices During Economic Downturn
Thursday November 13, 2008 8:01 am ET
LONDON and NEW YORK, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--Nov 13, 2008 -- Marketwire, a full-service newswire and communications
workflow
solutions provider, continued its partnership with IR Magazine
to present
its 6th Annual UK and 4th Annual East Coast (New York) Think
Tanks on
November 7, 2008. The simultaneous, invitation-only events
at London's City
Presentation Centre and the New York Stock Exchange provided
leading
investor relations professionals an opportunity to share
experiences,
discuss pressing issues affecting the industry, and offer
best-practice
strategies during an economic downturn. Each event featured
a discussion
between prominent IR experts and concluded with a room-wide,
round-table
discussion of the issues at hand. "Ask the Expert" segments
during breaks
gave participants a chance to offer their opinions on general
business
issues impacting the investor relations officer. | Source:
Marketwire | | 
(click to enlarge)
A panel of IR experts at the New York Think Tank responds to a hypothetical crisis scenario. |
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Print Quotes and Video Clips from "Ask the Expert" Interviews
Marketwire asked participants at both IR Think Tanks to
offer their
opinions on subjects ranging from investor communications,
to new media and
online communication strategies, to mentoring tips for the
IRO. - Cynthia Alers, director of investor relations,
The Sage Group
gives IROs advice on surviving in a bear market:
"Very often in a bear market what companies tend to do is...to
slash
budgets, not go on the road, avoid putting their story out...this
is
actually the wrong strategy. You do need to be out there
presenting your
story. In a bear market, analysts and investors are looking
for winners and
losers, and unless you're out there marketing your company,
you'll never be
one of the winners."
- Keith Russell, senior vice president, investor relations,
Stora
Enso says the most effective, timely investor communications
are also
the most simple and cost effective:
"The feedback that we've had from investors is to keep it
simple. They want
prompt communication, but in a very simple format. It's
important that
[information] is timely and accessible, and the simple solutions
are also
often the most cost-effective."
- Raj Mehan, director of investor relations, Steelcase
Inc.
describes his strategy on keeping investors informed through
proactive IR
that goes beyond material news distribution:
"I think the two go hand-in-hand. You have to use news distribution
and see
what's in the marketplace as far as what the main issues
and topics are.
Then you have to have the necessary relationships with all
shareholders...not just large, but large, small and medium...and
leverage
those relationships by calling them and addressing and repeating
the key
messages of your investor relations strategy."
Video Highlights
Think Tank Highlights / Key Facts
- In what is considered the worst financial crisis
since the great
depression, investor relations professionals are inundated
with stakeholder
phone calls. They must establish trust, provide reassurance
and deal with
"emotional neediness":
- Investors, worried about their own survival, are more
concerned with
how they are going to get rid of their stocks to meet redemption
and less
concerned about whether they like the stocks in their portfolio.
- With an anticipated 40-50% of hedge funds disappearing
next year, hedge
fund traders are trying to find "something/anything" that
they can trade
on, and that is often intangible.
- Equity analysts are talking like fixed-income analysts
and focusing on
liquidity.
- Pension funds, looking for real returns, are pulling
out of equity and
debt instruments and investing in non-traditional industries,
such as
forestry, that provide a steady rate of return.
- In the last three months, business news has moved from
the business
section to the front page. The initial reaction of many
public companies is
to stop communicating when, in fact, silence can breed mistrust,
quickly
and permanently severing the stakeholder relationships they
have worked so
hard to build. So today, successful investor relations means
frequent and
consistent investor relations:
- To reassure current shareholders and attract new ones,
IROs must
maintain ongoing and consistent communication with analysts,
shareholders
and the financial media, since any deviation from normal
can lead to
short-selling.
- Disclosure needs to be frequent and transparent -- while
this is always
true, it is of paramount importance during a bear market.
- There is an increased focus on crisis communications
and providing
concerned shareholders access to a single point of contact
and a
well-prepared management team.
- IR professionals are altering their communication strategies
and
tactics to adjust to today's volatile market conditions:
- Executives on earnings calls often discuss buy-backs
in a
desperate attempt to show faith in the future of their companies.
- With a large number of equity incentives now under water,
there is
greater need for internal, employee education that stresses
long-term
value.
- Traditional road shows are being replaced by meetings
at corporate
offices so investors and analysts witness management consensus
on long-term
company fundamentals.
- Paper-based communications -- especially annual reports
-- are being
replaced by websites and videos, and external services are
being
consolidated.
- There is an increased focus on measurable performance
to demonstrate
that effective IR leads to better stock performance.
- The investor relations officer has become a strategic
management team
member, playing a major role in shaping the direction of
the company's
future strategy:
- IROs bring the word on the street to the company.
They can
effectively balance the "financial" relationship with the
CFO and the
"strategic" relationship with the CEO to provide a complete
corporate
picture for the investor.
- To become successful strategic members of their corporations,
CFOs and
CEOs are increasingly viewing the IRO's role as one that
builds and
maintains relationships with investors and analysts that
drive the
companies forward, instead of as a "necessary evil."
Resources Marketwire offers a variety of services to help IR professionals
communicate effectively with their audiences, including
the Social Media
Plus full-disclosure press release, the Easy IR workflow
solution and
Dashboard Mobile Financial for news distribution to the
financial
community. For more information on all of Marketwire's communication
and
news distribution solutions, please call 800-774-9473. About IR Magazine and IR Magazine Conferences Published in New York and London by its parent company,
Cross Border, IR
magazine is the only global publication focused on the interface
between
companies and their investors. IR Magazine Conferences provide
the
worldwide IR audience with a forum for discussion, information
and
communication. They are an opportunity for IR professionals
to educate
themselves about new industry services, network with others
in the
industry, and get practical advice from a wide range of
experts. For more
information, please visit www.irmagazine.com. About Marketwire The only fully integrated North America-based global newswire,
Marketwire,
Inc. is a full-service partner to IR, PR and MarCom professionals
seeking
top-tier press
release distribution, media management, multimedia and
monitoring
solutions. Marketwire's customer-centric corporate philosophy
focuses on
being the best by infusing every aspect of its business
with the following
core attributes: precision, adaptability, innovation and
simplicity. Marketwire delivers its clients' news to the world's media
and financial
communities, fulfilling disclosure requirements in North
America in
compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and serving as Primary Information
Provider
(PIP) with the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA).
With a reputation
for technology leadership, Marketwire offers innovative
products and
services -- including Social Media, Search Engine Optimization,
Dashboard
Mobile Financial, News Dashboard coverage reports, exclusive
access to
networks such as the Canadian Press Wire Network, Easy IR
and Easy PR
workflow solutions, and more -- that help communication
professionals
maximize their effectiveness while ensuring accuracy and
best practices.
Having merged companies (Market Wire and CCNMatthews) in
April 2006, and
enjoying a combined history of 25 years of service, Marketwire
is now
majority-owned by OMERS Capital Partners, the private equity
arm of one of
Canada's largest pension funds. Marketwire distributes the majority of press releases issued
by publicly
traded companies in Canada and serves more than 8,000 clients
worldwide
through 19 offices on four continents. For more information,
visit us at
www.marketwire.com. Embedded
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Contact: For additional information:
Lisa Davis
Marketwire
(416) 941-6393
ldavis@marketwire.com
Dagmar King
Marketwire
(310) 765-3255
dking@marketwire.com
Source:
Marketwire
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