Strategic Financial And Investor Communication

In today's aggressive marketplace, listed companies can no longer rely on their numbers to do the talking. If companies can't communicate their achievements and strategy, mounting research evidence suggests, they will be overlooked, their cost of capital will increase and stock price will suffer. In Strategic Financial and Investor Communication: the stock price story Ian Westbrook, principal of Australia's leading independent financial communications firm, argues just this: stock price is more a story than a number. Moreover, the book will teach you how to tell your own story by guiding you through the fast-paced world of financial corporate communication with a professional's pragmatism as well as academic rigour. Whether you're a student or a professional of PR, investor relations or corporate communications, this much-needed guide will teach you how to tell a compelling story about your company that the stockbroker, fund manager and corporate media cannot ignore.

The first book to offer a global look at the state-of-the-art thinking and practice in investor relations and financial communication Featuring contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in financial communication and related fields—including public relations, corporate communications, finance, and accounting— this volume in the critically acclaimed “Handbooks in Communication and Media” seriesprovides readers with a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of investor relations and financial communications as they are practiced in North America and around the world. The Handbook of Financial Communication and Investor Relations provides an overview of the past, present, and future of investor relations and financial communications as a profession. It identifies the central issues of contemporary investor relations and financial communications practice, including financial information versus non-financial information, intangibles, risk, value, and growth. Authors address key topics of concern to contemporary practitioners, such as socially responsible investing, corporate governance, shareholder activism, ethics, and professionalism. In addition, the book arms readers with metrics and proven techniques for reliably measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of investor relations and financial communications. Bringing together the most up-to-date research on investor relations and financial communication and the insights and expertise of an all-star team of practitioners, The Handbook of Financial Communication and Investor Relations: Explores how the profession is practiced in various regions of the globe, including North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Australia, and other areas Provides a unique look at financial communication as it is practiced beyond the corporate world, including in families, the medical profession, government, and the not-for-profit sector Addresses “big-picture” strategies as well as specific tactics for financial communication during crises, the use of social media, dealing with shareholder activism, integrated reporting and CSR, and more This book makes an ideal reference resource for undergrads and graduate students, scholars, and practitioners studying or researching investor relations and financial communication across schools of communication, journalism, business, and management. It also offers professionals an up-to-date, uniquely holistic look at best practices in financial communication investor relations worldwide.

The primary objective of this handbook is to create a comprehensive knowledge base on the broad and sometimes misunderstood topic of investor relations, the center of most corporate communications programs. The approach taken was to first develop a thorough understanding of Wall Street itself. Having been a Fortune 25 Investor Relations Director as well as a Sr. Equity Analyst and Equity Research Director, the perception of what is needed by the financial community is quite different than what many investor relations officers believe. Driving a "hyperactive" Investor Relations program is the ultimate aim of this text. The author believes that the insight provided herein will enable new IROs to best understand their new profession and enable existing practitioners to add additional elements to their marketing programs that will enhance shareholder understanding and value. The author's website can be viewed at www.tomlauria.com.

"Many people rely on the stock markets and entrust their future to the efficiency of the investment system. Think about it: only in the United States various pension and retirement saving accounts accumulate about 20 trillion dollars in assets, with most of those assets being equities and bonds. The efficient markets require information in order to function properly - corporations disclose important details related to their operations and finances to make sure all market participants from professional investors managing billions of dollars to a retired teacher in Iowa have the same access to the information they need to make an informed decision about their investments. Investor relations professionals are on mile one of this information highway, enabling timely and comprehensive disclosure in order to help all the investors better understand the company's business and its value, and help investors better understand what they can expect from their investments in the future. In other words, the goal of investor relations becomes not just disclosure of information but educating the investors and managing expectations of investors as it related to the accurate, or fair, value of the corporations. The largest professional organization for investor relations, National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), proposes the following definition of investor relations: "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.""--

This book will examine the profession of investor relations from the practical standpoint. The book will define what investor relations is, what investor relations professionals do, what skills and competencies are required to become a successful investor relations practitioner and, finally, how to outsource investor relations services. Investor relations is a profession on the borderline between communication, finance and law. This book will address each of these three competencies as essential for successful practice. The book will discuss how these areas contribute to the day-to-day practice of investor relations and what demands they impose on the investor relations professionals.

This practical guide on the theory and practice of Investor Relations combines the art and science of marketing, financial analysis and financial communications in a single source. It offers expert advice and helpful tips to be used in real business life by corporate executives, financial analysts, students, and anyone competing for capital.

“This book clearly explains why Investor Relations is now a highly regarded career choice and demonstrates its value to companies and the investment community.”—Helen Parris, Director of Investor Relations, G4S plc “This book is an essential read for Investor Relations profes-sionals, business managers, and anyone interested in corporate relations.”—William Sun, Deputy Director of the Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility, Leeds Business School The expectations on UK listed companies continue to grow with the expansion of the regulatory framework and an increase in public scrutiny. The investment community continues to demand access to management, regular and meaningful communication, and an understanding of a firm’s position relative to its competitors. It falls increas-ingly to the Investor Relations (IR) function to help compa-nies and their management meet the rigorous demands of the equity markets and an evolving set of tools, technolo-gies, legal and governance frameworks. Digital channels present great but underutilised poten-tial to contribute to ever more effective IR. Online platforms offer fast, comprehensive, economical, exible and regula-tion-compliant methods of disclosing corporate informa-tion to investors, analysts and other relevant parties in the investment evaluation and decision making process.

This practical guide on the theory and practice of Investor Relations combines the art and science of marketing, financial analysis, and financial communications in a single source. It offers expert advice and helpful tips to be used in real business life by corporate executives, financial analysts, students, and anyone competing for capital.