An interview with Andrew Foster, Managing Director, Chairman of Corporate Broking, Morgan Stanley

08 Apr 2026
The Investor Relations Society
IR Society News
Ahead of The Investor Relations Society Annual Conference 2026, we sat down with one of our panellists, Andrew Foster, to find out a bit more about his thoughts on the upcoming event. Andrew will be joining Plenary 3 - Driving Board-Level Influence as an IRO.

Tell us a bit about you and your role

I am currently Chairman of Corporate Broking at Morgan Stanley.  I have spent the last 26 years in broking working with a wide cross section of companies across many sectors and have had the privilege to work on a multitude of high profile transactions from innovative fundraisings to hostile takeovers.  Most importantly I have had the pleasure of working with companies over the long term to help them deliver on their aspirations.  Prior to working in broking I was a regulator at the UKLA.

Why do you think the theme of ‘IR as a Trusted Advisor’ is so important this year?

Good advice has never been out of fashion but I would argue that it is needed now more than ever.  The need to separate the signal from the increasing amount of “noise” is greater than ever whilst at the same time is harder to do.  IR, sitting between the executive team and the market, needs to interpret that external noise and ensure that their company’s equity story cuts through and aligns with longer term strategy.

What insights will you be bringing to your panel?

Hopefully some perspective.  Macro uncertainty has been a constant throughout my career but there is generally always a way through!