Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. The largest professional investor relations association in the world, NIRI’s more than 3,300 members represent over 1,600 publicly held companies and $9 trillion in stock market capitalization.
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Hedge funds, mutual funds, bond holders, commercial banks, and individual investors are all stakeholders in your company. They each see the company through a different lens. Understand how investors compare different operating metrics and drivers across companies. Sam Brothwell, a former sellside analyst and director of investor relations, will lead a discussion of how to better position a company with the various stakeholders. Alison Williams, a former buyside analyst/portfolio manager, will add an investor's perspective.
There has been an explosion in the number and types of equity research providers over the last few years. Today, there's a dizzying array of choices, of which expert networks, channel checkers, and innovative sell-side firms are just a few. Institutional investors are utilizing these non-traditional sources of information, making it essential that IROs get familiar with the new research landscape. At this session, you'll hear directly from an IRO who has implemented an offensive strategy as well as the founder of a firm that advises institutions on which research providers to choose, and you'll walk away with tips for your own IR program.
Investors love to share their opinion regarding capital raising, buybacks, dividends and possible M&A. Respected IROs will discuss their experiences in managing that feedback and sharing it with their management teams and boards through the process of raising capital and/or returning capital to shareholders.
Successful interaction with rating agencies and debt investors are critical parts of the IR playbook. Balance sheet quality and the "Maturity Wall" looming in the next few years concern both debt and equity holders. IROs must be well versed in addressing credit structure and they will learn from this panel the most important communication points with this constituency.
Equity trading has drastically changed over the last ten years. As investor relations officers, it's essential that we understand the effect this innovation has had on our stock and on the information available to us. We'll make sense out of many of the recent developments, such as dark pools, high frequency trading and the quality of order flow in your stock. We will drill down to what it all means to the practice of investor relations. We'll take what we learn to follow the process of how a stock trades from start to settlement.
"The single most important trend being validated every day in corporate hiring is the demand for the corporate athlete." A bold assertion? Yes. And what does it mean, exactly? Given recent years of economic uncertainty, many companies are seeking to recruit or promote talent who offer specific functional expertise – in our case, investor relations – and who can contribute intellectually across the enterprise. Learn how the demand for corporate athletes is playing itself out in the workplace and how IROs can achieve "athlete status" with their executive management teams. Our panelists bring deep backgrounds in executive search and advancement in different capacities through a single or several companies.
The practice of investor relations is constantly changing – and thus, the skills that make for a successful IR practitioner. This session explores the skills IR practitioners need to have in 2011 to be successful in their current positions and to advance in their careers. What are CEOs and CFOs looking for in an IRO? Will the trend toward former sell siders as IROs be a lasting one, and do practitioners now need significant capital markets experience to be hired or promoted?
An experienced investor relations recruiter moderates a panel of recently hired IROs to discuss the issues. The panel will offer suggestions on how IR practitioners should position their experience most effectively when entering the job market.
Succeeding as an IRO requires flexibility and agility on many fronts, particularly in communications. In this panel session, seasoned IROs will discuss the intricacies of communicating with management and the board, activists, special interest groups, shareholders and employees about M&A and other transactional events. Strategic events happen quickly and can't always be anticipated. This session will cover the type of communication planning necessary to provide exceptional leadership and value under difficult as well as unexpected conditions.
Warren Buffett said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it." How will you respond when a crisis strikes your company? Are you prepared to effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders?
Bad news travels in nanoseconds, and IROs need to respond with the right message for the right medium.
Are you ready for another "Flash Crash" meltdown where $862 billion in market value was wiped out in under 20 minutes? What about runaway rumors speeding through social media pipelines? What would you do if an all employee email saying "we have disappointed investors" ends up in the WSJ?
The practice of crisis communications has changed dramatically and is ever evolving. IROs need to consider diverse audiences as well as disclosure issues.
Panel participants include communications pros who have dealt with these complicated issues and share best practice solutions in helping you navigate through treacherous environments.
This panel will:
An earnings release hits the tape early. We see classified information on Wikileaks. Expert Network participants are found to be trading on material, nonpublic information. The mechanisms for the release of sensitive information are proliferating, often involving IR information. How can an IRO bolster the safeguards on this information, and how to handle a leak, if one occurs?
Are you keeping pace with the rapidly changing and accelerating global information flow surrounding your company and competitors? Analyst research, media reports, and bloggers are flying around the global information highway on a 24/7 basis. How can you effectively keep up with a huge mountain of information about your company and competitors? Our panel will provide solid "news you can use" when it comes to building and maintaining an effective competitive intelligence program. Our panel will spotlight best practices that will put you in the driver's seat when it comes to effectively maintaining your global competitive intelligence network.
The financial media plays an important role in delivering information about companies. The evolution of the landscape has changed how the news is gathered and reported. For microcap companies with little sell side following, financial media in all of its forms can be one of the most important ways to increase visibility and interest. Though the session will focus on the US financial media, tips discussed will be applicable internationally.
In this session, we will:
Do you wonder how analysts create financial models for your company? What are they looking for when they call an IRO to walk through financial statements? How is the modeling process changing? In this session, you will learn the key components to building a model, the factors and value drivers based on earnings power, growth assumptions, EPS forecasting and cash flow generation.
This workshop is designed for anyone who is eager to test the IPO waters, embark on the going-public adventure or wants to develop an Investor Relations strategy in the aftermarket. It will focus on the critical success factors in Investor Relations throughout the IPO process until after the company's shares are trading.
Participants will hear real life examples and get proven advice from those who have successfully gone through the IPO process.
No stone will be left unturned. The session will answer:
Many companies have taken their shareholders' meetings virtual, and some have recently gone to a virtual only model. Until recently, there has not been much criticism of this practice. During the 2010 proxy season, however, Symantec held a virtual only shareholders' meeting (the first Fortune 500 company to do so) and found itself on the receiving end of significant criticism from many of its largest institutional holders - including CalSTRS and CalPERS. As a result, there is renewed interest — and negative press surrounding virtual-only meetings.
This presentation will focus on:
The investment community continues to view investor days as a valuable use of management time and corporate resources. When successfully executed, this event can impact investor and analyst sentiment, and be an integral piece of the long-term value creation puzzle.
The workshop, led by several IR pros, will cover all fundamental components of an investor day. For senior attendees, the session will go beyond just a refresher on all the elements and best practices. It will seek to generate fresh ideas as panelists will discuss latest trends, new initiatives and their likes as well as dislikes.
Topics include:
This workshop is dedicated to IROs who want to expand their global reach beyond their home markets. It will feature targeting and roadshow techniques, into the US for non US issuers and into international capital markets for anyone.
Participants will also learn from a unique collection of war stories as told by international investor relations practitioners.
The following topics will be addressed by seasoned IROs and global equity portfolio managers from the main capital markets:
Investor presentations are a critical element of a company's communication with the investment community, rating agencies, board of directors and employees. This workshop focuses on development of the key components, messaging, and consideration as to where a company is in its development in terms of what to disclose.
The workshop will:
The goal of sustainability is to meet the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This requires being successful financially, socially and environmentally. The keys to social and environmental success are the same as for financial success: a clear strategy and a disciplined approach.
In this module, we will discuss the need for and approaches to developing a strategy for sustainability from the perspective of Investor Relations, covering five key topics: Appreciative Inquiry (AI), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the principle of Transparency, Stakeholder Engagement, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), and Trends in Shareholder Resolutions.
IR professionals' daily engagement with shareholders, possibly including activist investors, places them in a position to exercise leadership in sustainability. They will be called upon to assist with each of the five topics above and will be expected to be experts in a few of them.
Following the case pattern of Fairmount Minerals, we will demonstrate how Appreciative Inquiry (AI), transparency, reporting and stakeholder engagement are successful and essential strategies for sustainability.
Attendees will leave with a self-assessment tool for their firm and "Top 10" list of action steps to begin working on sustainability.
Everything we thought we knew about the capital markets has drastically changed over the last ten years. In this workshop, we'll make sense out of all the recent changes and drill down to what it all means to the practice of investor relations. By the end of this workshop, you'll leave as a more powerful IRO. Don't miss your opportunity to attend the highest ranked workshop from the annual conference last year.
We'll cover the three major pillars that make up our capital markets and the latest in trading, research and equity capital markets.
Trading: Understand market structure today and how we got to this era of rapid change
Research: Learn about the power shift from the sell- to the buy-side
ECM - Investment Banking: Understand what motivates all the players at the table today, and learn how your expertise as an IRO is more important than ever in capital markets activities
With another year of change ahead, there is now more to discuss in regard to the NIRI role, the IR profession, and the changes in the IR Community. The morning will open with the 2011 Annual Conference Co-Chairs, then turn to the NIRI National Board of Directors' Chairman and the NIRI President and CEO.
Adam Bryant, The New York Times "Corner Office" columnist and author, will share insights gained through writing his noted column and new book on today's leaders. Hear from a well-respected columnist on what makes a great leader.
A distinguished panel will discuss the leadership qualities that company outsiders seek in management. Explore qualities that help support the company story through the views of governance, portfolio management, board of director, and strategic roles. Learn which management qualities to highlight and coach into your company's leaders.
George Barrett, Cardinal Health's Chairman and CEO, will provide insight on leading from the Boardroom and C-Suite in today's business environment. Hear his unique dual-role perspective amid evolving leadership expectations. George's viewpoint is complemented by his experiences fulfilling IR responsibilities during his career.
Michael Darda, a well-covered economist and equity markets expert, will discuss his view on the economy and the future of equity markets. The protracted economic recovery and quickly globalizing capital markets create new challenges for IROs. Michael's insight will add character to your story while enhancing your view of the types of intelligence you can bring back to management.
Investors increasingly focus on visual cues to gauge management's sincerity and confidence while delivering messages. Jan Hargrave, leading body language expert, will explore what can be coached into and coached out of your management team's presentation style. You'll learn techniques to bring a level of sophistication to finding meaning in body language.
What is the state of IR outside the U.S.? What are the implications for Global programs? Hear practices and tactics in a lively discussion with IR leaders and professionals from around the world. The panel will compare and contrast investor relations strategies and approaches as well as provide an update on best practices. The NIRI International Reception will immediately follow the program.
This session aims at identifying the various routes that are available to companies that want to diversify their shareholder base internationally: cross-listings and roadshows are the most frequent means. The objectives and the means, however, may vary widely from one company to another. Increasingly, a diversified shareholder base is also seen as a strategic tool to achieve increased penetration in a given market or region. A recent trend also shows that a growing number of companies are undertaking secondary listings in the emerging markets with assets under management and a burgeoning middle class serving as the main drivers.
The last several months have seen an unprecedented number of new laws, rules and regulations that - at their heart - affect shareholder communications. The IR professional has and will continue to find himself or herself at the center of the practical application of many of the issues raised by these new rules. This presentation will cover the highlights of various new laws, rules and regulations from the non-US IR perspective, address emerging areas of best practice and highlight areas of interest and/or concern.
Although rarely specifically mandated by regulatory authorities, having a written disclosure policy is a component of international investor relations best practice. This session will aim at providing hands-on advice on how to set internal guidelines and rules for employee behavior with respect to communicating with reporters, family, friends, colleagues, business contacts, and insider trading.
Participants will also find out why it is becoming increasingly important to have a social media disclosure policy. The latest trends in risk disclosure policies will also be addressed.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working toward a G-20 goal of using a single set of improved, high-quality, global, converged accounting standards developed through rigorous due process. The first international harmonization accounting rules were issued in 1973. The beginning of the IFRS adhesion took place in 2002, when the European Community decided that more than 7,000 companies should adopt the rules in the consolidated financial statements from 2005 on. In the same period, other countries also migrated to IFRS, including Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa. Brazil, South Korea, India and Canada are also IFRS compliant now.
A number of these standards are expected to become final during 2011 for implementation by U.S. GAAP and IFRS preparers may do so from 2015 on.
NOTE: Breakout discussions are in various meeting rooms in the hotel. This list is subject to change. Look in the program book for the most current list of breakout discussions and their locations.
Aerospace & Defense - Segura 6
Banking - Del Lago 2
BioPharma / BioTech - Genoa II
Building Materials / Construction - Verona I
Chemicals - Genoa III
Consumer - RC 1 - 3
Counselors & IR Firms - Tuscany C
Energy / Oil & Gas / Fuel - Palazzo F - H
Financial Services - Palazzo A - H
Food / Food Manufacturers - Segura 2
Healthcare Services - Segura 3
Insurance - Del Lago 3
Manufacturing / Conglomerates - Palazzo E
Media & Entertainment - Amalfi II
Medical Technology & Devices - Del Lago 4
Mining & Metals - Amalfi I
Real Estate - Verona II
Restaurants - Segura 5
Retail - Sienna I
Semiconductor - Sienna II
Service Industries - Napoli I
Technology - Hardware & Peripherals - RC 4 - 6
Technology - Internet & Software - Palazzo D
Telecommunication - Segura 1
Transportation - Napoli II
Utilities & Power - Plaza 3
This session is designed to look at how institutional investors make their investment decisions and what the buy side views as investor relations best practices.
Rivel Research Group is drawing on a series of studies conducted since 2001 that highlight how the investment community makes decisions. Current findings presented are based on a representative sample of US and European investors. These studies focus heavily on the issues that trigger buy side decision-making at three separate and distinct phases of an investment professional's involvement with a common stock. Key takeaways will include how to best deliver your company's strategy and how to effectively measure the investor relations function. Attendees will also develop a firm grasp of how conventional thinking about capital deployment strategies has changed over time.
Institutional Investor Magazine announced its All-America Executive Team – Leadership and Investor Relations Awards in January 2011. Attendees will understand the criteria used for selecting award recipients for investor relations officers, c-level executives, and company investor relations programs, and what this all means in the investment process.
Finally, attendees will get an individual's point of view. How does one investor relations officer present its corporate strategy and key metrics that captivates the buy-side? What does one buy-side analyst look for in a company's key messaging and related data points that facilitates the investment decision making.
Brunswick Group conducted a cross-Atlantic survey of more than 400 institutional investors in order to determine what influences their investment decisions. The survey also examines the role of digital media (blogs, social media, micro-blogging services, etc.) as an influencer behind buy and sell decisions.
While the role of the sell side continues to evolve, one thing has stayed constant: equity research analysts remain an integral element in the investment decision process. Effectively managing these relationships can serve as another avenue to positively differentiate your company as an investment.
While more research is now being conducted "in-house," investors report that it is important to know what the sell-side's viewpoint is and what is being said in the market as these perspectives can dictate stock price movement. Buy-side professionals asserting the sell-side can be particularly helpful when ramping up on a new company.
As IR professionals are often measured by management for their ability to attract and effectively manage both buy-side and sell-side relationships, this session will provide the tools and insights to effectively leverage the sell side to further capture investor mindshare.
One of the most important responsibilities of the IR function is to develop and maintain strong relationships with the investment community. While a focused investor targeting effort has been analytically proven to improve stock performance, many IROs do not have the time or bandwidth to develop an effective targeting program and often outsource this effort.
In this session, panelists will discuss targeting best practices and review first-hand experiences and case studies. In addition, international targeting efforts will be covered, specifically the how and when, as well as the cost/benefit analysis of marketing globally.
Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), a large-cap diversified industrial, has a consistent track record of delivering shareholder value. The company, which has quadrupled in size over the past 8 years, has done so under the leadership of a strong executive team and culture. An acute focus on return metrics and a reputation for strategic acuity and steady execution has led to a stock price outperformance of the S&P 500 on a 1, 3, 5 and 10 year basis.
In a fireside chat format, SWK's CFO and IR Director, as well as one of the Company's top shareholders and a sell-side analyst who covers the company will provide their perspective and insight as it relates to driving shareholder value through effective analyst and investor engagement.
This interactive discussion will focus on high-level themes, including the importance of strategic communications and management commitment to investor marketing (who, what, when, where, how) to specific topics such as developing and communicating a value proposition, investor hot buttons, leveraging the sell-side, M&A communications best practices and successfully navigating the competitive investment landscape.
This session is designed to be interactive and audience members are encouraged to participate in the discussion – whether to ask a question or to share their own best practices and insight.
A perennial topic that IROs are challenged with is guidance and all that comes with it: issues such as to guide or not, what level of disclosure, and when to update. Investor Relations professionals are faced with the task of striking a balance between providing investors with the information they crave while recognizing the lack of perfect information as it relates to their own business and the macro environment together with the liability that comes with forwarding looking disclosure.
On this panel, we will focus on the pros and cons of guidance, utilizing case studies of companies that have historically guided, adapted their guidance over time and are opposed to guidance. In addition, we will discuss the aspects of resuming (or modifying) guidance post-recession.
Has the time come for true competition in the U.S. listings business? As NYSE and Nasdaq explore far-reaching M&A opportunities and shares listed on those exchanges now trade on numerous other exchanges and trading platforms, what is the true value in listing on a specific stock exchange? This session will explore the changing dynamics in today's capital markets and discuss the benefits of bringing competition to the listings exchange duopoly.
An examination of how to access global capital and influence new investors to invest in your company. Primary emphasis will be on the Asia-Pacific region, international roashows, and marketing activities that corporate IROs can conduct to promote their companies.
A Customer Stock Ownership Plan (CSOP™) represents the single greatest way IRO's can impact their company's bottom line while gaining a seat at the table or enhancing their role as a thought leader. A CSOP™ allows IRO's to not only connect with an entirely new group of shareholders, but to do so with minimal IRO time commitment. A CSOP™ is a transformational technology that enables public companies to sell their stock on Facebook and the web in 3 clicks, creating measurably more valuable customers and shareholders.
A CSOP™ drives enterprise wide benefit because customer stock ownership drives behavioral change. Consumers who are investors care more about the brands they own than about the brands they don't. A CSOP™ creates an entirely new segment of shareholders that can conveniently own a piece of your company for as little as $10. Best of all, CSOP's™ appear as a single shareholder, significantly reducing the cost of communicating with a large base of retail shareholders.
If you're an IRO looking to contribute profit and value across the enterprise, or looking for a way to increase the number of long-term, loyal shareholders without an added burden of increased costs or administration and want to be viewed as a leader in a changing world, prepare to lead with a Customer Stock Ownership Plan from LOYAL3.
If you want immediate feedback on how attendees feel about key relationship issues between investor relations and the board of directors, then you want to join Corporate Board Members' President and host of "This Week in the Boardroom" webshow TK Kerstetter. He, along with fellow panelists Doug Wilburne, corporate secretary, vice president of investor relations at Textron and NIRI chair, and Mike Berthelot, a director of Fresh Del Monte Produce Company, Pro-Dex Inc. and chair of the Corporate Directors Forum invite audience members to respond to questions and statements through an automated audience response device. WARNING – This Lunch & Learn could result in some in some indigestion!
The use of social media by institutional and retail investors is growing at a significant rate. Companies that have embraced social media as a core element of their disclosure are seeing a substantial increase in awareness of their company and their ability to attract and influence investors.
This panel will analyze these trends and focus on answering this question:
"Is now the time for all companies to adopt social media disclosure and move beyond compliance to a more efficient and effective model of disclosure?"
The Internet and new media have changed how investors, journalists and market participants access news and corporate communications. In this changed world, IROs have adopted widely different approaches, but regardless of the approach, what should they be doing to better understand how web based message flows affect their company? This session will explore how IROs can get a 360-view of what is being said by stakeholders that matter--investors, traditional media and online influencers--and will outline the first and most fundamental steps that any IRO can take to easily monitor and inform their management on how both old and new channels are responding to their company communications.
Success often depends on how well you understand the communication needs of investors and analysts. How do they like to be communicated with? How are they researching your company? How do you avoid their pet peeves, and how do you stand out in their minds as a first-rate IR practitioner? A panel of buy- and sell-side professionals discuss their impressions of what makes for good and bad IR. Attendees will also have the opportunity to directly ask the panel all the things they ever wanted to know about communicating effectively with the investment community.
Investor relations can be a key function in risk mitigation. As IROs, we are expected to know the minds of investors, elicit feedback for management and the board as well as be willing and able to effectively speak truth to power. How do we stay in front of potential conflicts of interest and ethical issues in this increasingly global and transparent world, in which information and stock shares trade at speeds unimaginable several years ago. What is an IRO to do when they find themselves in the midst of an ethical issue? How can the IRO take the lead in ethical discussions at the management and board level? Hear from and interact with members of NIRI's Ethics Council and Peer Governance Network as they discuss the resources and tools NIRI makes available to help IROs navigate these issues.
As the scope of investor relations responsibilities grows and the line between work and home blurs, how are IROs fostering productive work environments that help their team members work intelligently and resiliently? Our panelists will share how they set expectations, deploy their teams and share responsibilities in order to achieve company objectives while helping to keep team members' work and life demands (as well as their own) in balance or integrated healthfully. Our diverse IRO panelists lead teams of 1.5 to 6 persons; from an IR focus to the full gamut of IR and corporate communications; and from market caps of $400 million to nearly $30 billion.
Many companies take for granted that their "off the record" conversations with analysts and investors do not violate Regulation FD. However, Office Depot, who was recently sanctioned by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for selectively conveying to analysts and institutional investors that the company would not meet analysts' earnings estimates, crossed the line. This presentation will focus on:
Shareholder activism continues to be front and center, with many institutional investors marked by rising dissident success rates in proxy fights and in obtaining board of director seats with which to carry forward their agenda. Activism is affecting everyone, whether it is a proxy fight with a large cap or Board control or a takeover with small and mid cap companies.
One of the key determining factors of a successful defense in either a contested solicitation or takeover is planning and thorough preparation. More often than not, management teams and boards have not done a thorough enough evaluation of their weaknesses and are at a disadvantage when a campaign is launched. Be assured - the activist is well versed on a company's weaknesses and is well prepared.
This panel will focus on understanding activist motivations and tactics, regulatory and environmental trends giving rise to activism, common mistakes made by companies, and the proactive measures IROs can take to be better prepared in advance of finding themselves and their company as an activist target.
Say-on-Pay is one of the most pressing new governance issues facing IROs. Regulatory requirements are creating proxy statements that are longer, and read less frequently. Many institutional investors rely on external proxy advisors to summarize and opine on company proxies, and retail investors simply are not voting.
Although no company has complete control over the outcome of Say-on-Pay, the IRO can improve their value to the management team by having a thorough, proactive plan and point of view.
Along with Say-on-Pay, there have been initial calls for a "Fifth Analyst Call" by certain influential institutional investors, asking for a discussion of governance and compensation topics for a select few.
This environment presents IROs with a great opportunity to utilize both their investor engagement skills to improve relationships with major investors/voters as well as their messaging skills to improve the quality and clarity of their company's proxy disclosure documents and coordination with legal and HR peers.
This panel will share experiences and cover recommendations with respect to proactive pre-proxy engagement, resultant improvements to messaging, the impact they feel this has on investor support for company management teams, boards, and compensation programs (including Say-on-Pay proposals), and any heightened visibility and appreciation IROs gained within their companies as a result.
In the last several months we have seen an unprecedented number of new laws, rules and regulations that - at their heart - affect shareholder communications, as well as corporate governance and securities regulation. The IRO has and will continue to find himself or herself at the center of the practical application of many of the issues raised by these new rules. This presentation will cover the highlights of various new laws, rules and regulations from the IR perspective, address emerging areas of best practice and highlight areas of interest and/or concern as the 2011 proxy and annual meeting season winds to a close.
Some of the specific topics covered will include: (i) proxy disclosure enhancements (e.g., CD&A changes, director disclosure, board leadership, the board's role risk oversight, compensation consultant and periodic reporting updates); (ii) notice and access; (iii) clawbacks; (iv) corporate governance issues; and (v) institutional investor (13f) disclosure changes.