IR Society 2020 Best Practice Awards entries open today
IR Society leads the way in excellence in Investor Relations
The IR Society, representing the UK Investor Relations industry, today launches its 20th Best Practice Awards (“Awards”). At a time of considerable uncertainty as economies and communities struggle to cope with the far-reaching consequences of the covid-19 pandemic, stakeholder engagement and the use of digital channels has never been more important. These prestigious Awards celebrate the achievements of companies that wish to demonstrate their commitment to delivering best-in-class investor communications.
The Awards, which will be judged by a panel of esteemed investor relations and investment community professionals, comprise both self-entry and voted Awards. IR teams can now submit self-entries for awards rewarding best practice in investor relations in the following five categories:
- Most Effective Overall Communication of Company Investment Proposition
- Best Communication of ESG
- Most Effective Use of Digital Communications
- Best IR Relating to a Corporate Transaction
- Best Annual Report
Awards in the self-entry category will be presented to FTSE 100, FTSE 250, Small Cap & AIM, and international companies, in recognition of the diverse range of companies looking to the UK for excellence in IR.
This year, having listened to feedback and following a review by the IR Society’s Best Practice Committee, we are delighted to introduce a new format for the self-entry Awards. The essay-style written submission has been replaced with a Q&A entry for each award, combining multiple choice and short answer questions. Our aim is to streamline the entry process whilst still providing plenty of opportunities to give examples and showcase your team’s achievements.
For the voted Awards, which recognise excellence in individual and team investor relations, the IR Society is delighted to be working once again in partnership with Extel, an Institutional Investor company, helping the IR Society to address a wider audience and voting universe. We are now accepting nominations for:
- Best newcomer to IR (individual)
- Best IRO (individual)
- Best overall company IR (company)
- Best Investor Engagement (investor)
The ‘Best Investor Engagement’ award is decided by company IROs and presented to an investor/buy-side firm that the investment community believes is the leader in investor engagement with companies.
David Walker, Chair of the IR Society, commented:
“The IR Society sets the standards for excellence across all facets of the investor relations profession. The ongoing covid-19 crisis, in addition to significant ongoing developments in the regulatory landscape, makes effective market communications more important than ever and best-in-class investor relations has a fundamental role to play in helping companies succeed at this unprecedented time. In the 20th year of our prestigious Awards, and arguably the most challenging of all, what better way to be recognised than to win one of our awards for excellence. I therefore strongly encourage you to submit your entries, and look forward to seeing you at the Awards dinner in November."
Sallie Pilot, Chair of the Best Practice Committee, said:
“We are in unprecedented times and now more than ever businesses will need to proactively communicate with the investment community and wider stakeholders. The role of the Best Practice Awards in recognising best practice in investor relations and those setting the path for others to follow has never been more important. The work of the Best Practice Committee has ensured that award requirements and criteria for 2020 have been updated and refined so that they continue to reflect changes in the dynamic operating and regulatory environment companies and IROs encounter on a day-to-day basis. We believe that a real opportunity exists for companies to embrace new ways of thinking and doing things and these awards will capture that.”
Join our IR Webinar: Best Practice Awards Launch at 12.30pm today. Register here.
The 20th Annual Best Practice Awards' entries are open to all companies from today, 1 April 2020. Nominations for the voted Awards close on 30 April 2020 whilst entries for the self-entry Awards remain open until 30 June 2020. Click here for more information, our best practice criteria and entry forms for the self-entry Awards, as well as nominations forms for the voted Awards.
The Best Practice Committee is chaired by Sallie Pilot, Director, Chief Insight and Engagement Officer, Black Sun, and can be viewed here.
For more information contact:
Laura Hayter, CEO, The IR Society
+44 20 7379 1763 or laura.hayter@irsociety.org.uk
Kate Heseltine, Head of Policy & Communications, The IR Society
+44 20 7379 1763 or kate.heseltine@irsociety.org.uk
Notes for editors:
About the Investor Relations Society
The Investor Relations Society (IR Society) is a membership organisation that exists to promote best practice investor relations in the UK and beyond. It is run by IR professionals for IR professionals.
Established in 1980, the IR Society’s mission is to promote best practice in investor relations; to support the professional development of its members; to represent their views to regulatory bodies, the investment community and government; and to act as a forum for issuers and the investment community.
The Society has over 850 members from the UK, Europe and beyond, including representatives from most of the FTSE 100, a large number of FTSE 250 companies and a number of AIM and smaller companies as well as IR advisers and service providers. For more information visit www.irsociety.org.uk or connect with us on Twitter (@IRSocietyUK) or LinkedIn
Published 1 April, 2020