Get by with a little help from our friends
Sometimes we all need a helping hand and, for IR teams, the sell side can offer that. But for IR teams with a large number of covering analysts, there’s a balancing act to be struck between who to speak to and in what order, which conferences to attend and who to partner with on non-deal roadshows. In this issue’s cover feature, Tim Human talks to IR professionals in this position, hearing how they manage relationships with large numbers of sell-side analysts.
This feature neatly complements this year’s Global Roadshow Report – one of our most popular research reports of the year. Our research team profiles the top brokers for virtual roadshows and takes a look back at how on earth we all managed to meet during the last 12 months.
Of course, robust relationships with the sell side can be essential when dealing with an attack from a short-seller, which can be destructive. This is one of the many reasons why NIRI has been lobbying the SEC and Congress to mandate short-seller disclosure for more than a decade.
This year, the association had some good fortune when Representative Maxine Waters introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of short and derivative positions. But the bill received mixed support and has its detractors. I take a look at whether the US needs short-seller disclosure and what it should look like.
Elsewhere in this issue, Garnet Roach profiles some of the tech tools that have given IR teams a helping hand – from targeting and CRM tools to NLP databases – and we run our annual proxy season preview, where we look at the issues we believe could play a big role in next year’s annual meeting seasons around the world.
Finally, this is my last edition of IR Magazine: after five years at IR Media Group and three years as editor, I’m moving on to pastures new. During these five years, I’ve often talked about how fortunate I feel to cover investor relations at such a fascinating moment in time. From ESG and the role of capitalism in society to the ways in which technology is transforming the capital markets, we get to talk about big, societal issues that reach far beyond the remit of the IR department.
As indeed do IROs: I’m in awe of the strategic value that so many of you provide to your firms, often in spite of small teams and limited resources.
And my good fortune extends beyond the topics we’ve covered during my tenure; I’ve also been fortunate to make many close friends, within IR Media Group and the broader IR community.
Thank you to everyone who welcomed me with open arms to the IR community, who responded to my interview requests at short notice, who did their best to make sense of my long and rambling questions during panel discussions and who gave me the confidence to take on a job that I sometimes doubted I could do.
I hope to stay in touch with many of you in my next job but, for now, I would just like to say thank you, friends, for the helping hand.
Ben Ashwell Editor ben.ashwell@irmagazine.com +1 212 430 6869
Editor Ben Ashwell Managing editor & chief copy editor Kathleen Hennessy Senior reporter Garnet Roach Senior reporter Tim Human Contributors Lloyd Bevan, Jeff Cossette, Laurie Havelock, Linda Montgomery, Mike Schnitzel, Mikkel Skougaard, Sarah Welsh Editorial advisory board Brian Christie, Janet Craig, Vlad dela Cruz, Gunhild Grieve, Catherine James, Ricardo Jiménez, Richard Jones, Jeannie Ong, Andrew Stephen Founding editor Janet Dignan Design and production executive James Noden Managing director, events Gargi Iyer Head of event operations Lauren Wilson Head of event content Steven Wade Events manager Priscilla Lim Events co-ordinator Chloë Rutter Events assistant Danielle Gardiner
President Ian Richman Head of sales Sébastien Dutrieu European sales director Ross Ingram Head of partnerships, North America Adam Dar Managing director, content Marie Paul Research & customer insight assistant Ariah Varcianna Content marketing manager Edward Williamson Digital marketing operations manager Katy Littlewood Content and digital marketing assistant Leanne James Marketing manager Stephanie Netchaeva Campaign and content manager Abigail Fajobi Corporate sales manager Paul Campbell Tel: +44 20 8004 5015 Email: sales@irmagazine.com
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Issue 289. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Articles are published without responsibility on the part of the publishers or the authors for any loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any view expressed herein.
Cover story credit iStockphoto.com/AerialPerspective Works
