IR Society News

IR Society News Consultation Responses 28 June, 2024

This IR Society response calls for increased standardisation, given the sizeable disparities in price and quality, rigour and methodology amongst providers.

IR Society News Consultation Responses 6 June, 2024

This IR Society response calls for simplicity to allow straightforward and speedy implementation, supports the eligibility of companies listed/traded on a UK recognised stock exchange (including investment trusts) for the UK ISA, but questions the exclusion of companies with overseas incorporations (except in the case of secondary listings).

IR Society News Consultation Responses Policy & Positions 5 June, 2024

In this IR Society response, which draws on the findings from our 2023 member poll on investment research, we emphasise the importance of research for valuations and the London markets, noting the impact of MiFID II unbundling on the quality of coverage and the industry perspectives provided. We are therefore generally supportive of the FCA's proposals for increased payment optionality as this could lead to increased/improved quality of coverage for small- and mid-caps, provided the associated ‘guardrails’ are proportionate and aligned with the equivalent US and proposed EU regimes.

IR Society News 10 May, 2024

We are delighted to announce our next keynote speaker will be Robert Pickering, former CEO at Cazenove, in converstion with Evan Davis.

IR Society News Industry News 13 March, 2024

The Society partnered the Investor Forum on their latest white paper, which focuses on helping build stronger, more collaborative partnerships and rejuvenating the investor-company dialogue.

IR Society News Members' News 8 March, 2024

We are thrilled to announce that EQ RD:IR has confirmed that it will sponsor the IR Society once again in 2024.

IR Society News 9 February, 2024

Informed magazine is the quarterly journal of the IR Society and our members continue to rate it highly as one of the most valuable resources we provide. We are asking for contributions for the Spring 2024 edition, to be published in mid-March.

IR Society News Industry News 31 January, 2024

As the market and technology evolves and investor demographics and expectations change, the Best Practice Committee refines these guidelines so that they continue to be an ongoing tool to help Investor Relations Officers tackle new challenges and improve their current skills.

IR Society News Members' News 29 January, 2024

The IR Society is delighted to welcome Orient Capital once again as a sponsor for 2024!

IR Society News Consultation Responses Policy & Positions Research & Surveys 5 January, 2024

This IR Society response draws on the findings from recent member research on Scope 3 and SECR reporting.

IR Society News 8 December, 2023

After almost 10 years in our current home in Coleman Street the IR Society will be moving to a new office early in 2024.

IR Society News Industry News 22 November, 2023

At Tuesday night’s annual Investor Relations Society Best Practice Awards dinner at the Royal Lancaster, London, the IR Society celebrated the achievements of those companies demonstrating their commitment to delivering best-in-class investor and stakeholder communications.

IR Society News 10 November, 2023

The results of the Member Survey, conducted in September every year, are incredibly important in underpinning our planning for the year ahead. Thanks once again to everyone who completed the survey.

IR Society News Consultation Responses Policy & Positions 5 October, 2023

This IR Society response draws on the findings from the ESG data/ratings survey carried at Easter this year among our IRO Members, which illustrate a level of dissatisfaction with the current quality of engagement between companies and ESG data and ratings agencies. We hope this principles-based Voluntary Code of Conduct that is being developed for providers of ESG data and ratings will be helpful for our members, given the amount of time/resource IR departments currently spend dealing with these agencies.

IR Society News Consultation Responses Policy & Positions Research & Surveys 13 September, 2023

In this IR Society response, which draws on the findings from recent member research on the FRC's proposals of most relevance to IROs, the Society is generally supportive of the proposed reforms, but calls for more flexibility and less prescription in certain areas, for example, audit committee oversight of narrative and sustainability reporting given many corporates already have a sustainability committee. The Society expresses support for increased transparency around malus and clawback arrangements, although calls for more clarity around disclosure of their ‘usage’. The Society also identifies several areas where more detailed guidance would be helpful, including ‘good’ outcome reporting, ‘significant’ appointments for ‘over-boarding’ disclosures, audit committee engagement with shareholders and oversight of narrative/sustainability reporting.

IR Society News Consultation Responses Policy & Positions 30 June, 2023

In this IR Society response, which draws on the findings from recent IRO member research on the FCA's proposed changes to the Listing Rules and on current levels of investment research in the UK, the Society was generally supportive of the proposed reforms given most IRO respondents thought the FCA proposals would reduce regulatory barriers for companies and bolster UK competitiveness. However, the Society highlights concern that a lack of shareholder approvals for major transactions could lead to significant legal and advisory costs in the early days, until a more streamlined approach based on successful transactions establishes best practice, and that a generous transition period could be needed for current standard listings to allow them to comply with the more onerous ‘single category’ continuing obligations. The Society also mentions that liquidity, depth of markets, and comparable peers are thought of by IRO respondents as the most important factors in deciding where to list the proposals, with regulation and valuations also seen as significant factors. The response also highlights some more significant issues that the Society believes may also influence the attractiveness and competitiveness of the London markets, including the UK market’s sensitivity to Directors' remuneration and compensation structures, the quality and timeliness of Investment Research, the need to encourage funds flow into UK asset managers, the suggestion of establishing a framework that better enables companies to identify all short-sellers so that they can engage with them (if they wish), and the UK’s overlapping disclosure and filing obligations which could benefit from being streamlined and simplified.

IR Society News Consultation Responses Policy & Positions 30 June, 2023

In this IR Society response, which draws on the findings from recent IRO member research on ESG data and ratings, which underline the importance of ESG ratings to corporates, illustrate a level of dissatisfaction with the quality of engagement between companies and ratings agencies, and indicate strong support for their regulation (90% of respondent IROs think they should be regulated by the FCA). The response also: • recommends that the UK regime is based on recommendations from IOSCO, to avoid regulatory arbitrage across jurisdictions; • calls for consistency and harmonisation with overseas equivalent regulations eg the EU’s recently published Proposal for regulating ESG ratings providers; and • recommends an appropriate transitional period, a phased approach so that smaller agencies have a longer transition period and an ongoing initial ‘start up’ period for new providers.

IR Society News 30 June, 2023

The Investor Relations Society (the Society) is pleased to announce that Douglas Radcliffe, Group Investor Relations Director at Lloyds Banking Group and former Deputy Chair of the Society has assumed the role of Chair

IR Society News Research & Surveys 14 June, 2023

Recent survey of IRO members provides insight into their experiences with ESG data and ratings agencies.

IR Society News Industry News 5 May, 2023

Katya Gorbatiouk of the London Stock Exchange outlines her thoughts on the direction of travel for sustainability communications, the key areas where transparency is expected by capital providers and the implications for the mission-critical role of the IR function.