Senior management boosts commitment to investor relations

Globally, senior management is spending more time on investor relations, with the CFO in particular increasing commitment to the discipline, according to the latest IR Magazine Global Investor Relations Practice Report.

Overall, the number of days dedicated to investor relations by the chief executive, the CFO and other senior management is up to an average three-year high of 45 days. This rise is down to an increased effort from CFOs, who ‒ as in previous years ‒ also remain most likely to hold executive responsibility for investor relations, with almost two thirds of IR teams reporting to the chief financial officer.

Senior management’s increased commitment to investor relations is led by those at Asian firms, which put aside the greatest number of days for IR: an average of 72 days across 2013. This is despite Asian CEOs, CFOs and other senior management attending fewer one-on-one investor meetings than peers in Europe or North America.

Overall, the number of one-on-one investor meetings attended by firms across these three regions has also increased over the year. While this is in part due to greater senior management attendance, it is the IR teams that have pushed figures up. In fact, with IR-only meetings rising at a faster pace than those attended by senior management, the percentage overseen by CEOs, CFOs and other senior management has actually dropped, the IR Magazine research shows.

The third annual IR Magazine Global Investor Relations Practice Report is based on responses from 1,210 IR practitioners to a series of surveys undertaken around the world by IR Insight, the research arm of IR Magazine.

The 40-page document offers a detailed snapshot of IR practices in Europe, North America and Asia in 2013, with additional insights into investor relations in the UK and Canada and IR breakdowns by sector. A specialized section on IR salaries, meanwhile, reveals how much IR heads earn compared with the rest of their team and how bonuses are awarded.

For more information about the IR Magazine Global Investor Relations Practice Report and to secure your own copy, please click here.