IR Society 2021 Best Practice Awards entries open today

The IR Society, the UK’s professional body for investor relations practitioners, today launches its 21st Annual Best Practice Awards (the ‘Awards’).

In a year where economies and communities have had to cope with the far-reaching consequences of a global pandemic and ongoing changes in the regulatory environment, increased stakeholder engagement and addressing ESG issues has never been more important. These prestigious Awards celebrate the achievements of companies demonstrating 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, chaired by Paul Lee, 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 four categories:

Best IR Communications and Engagement Programme
Best Innovation in IR
Best Communication of ESG
Best Annual Report

Awards in the Self-entry category will be presented to Small-cap, Mid-cap, Large-Cap companies integrated across all regions, in recognition of the diverse range of companies looking to the UK for excellence in IR.

Through the work of the IR Society Best Practice Committee, the awards criteria are continually reviewed and adapted to ensure they align with current best practice. This year’s Self-entry Awards have been refined to reflect recent changes in regulation and best practice guidelines. The Committee has made two major changes to this year’s Awards categories.

To reinforce the importance of a holistic IR engagement programme that meets the needs of shareholders, wider stakeholders and increasingly broader communication, we have combined the best overall communication of company investment proposition and best digital communications awards into this flagship award - Best IR Communications and Engagement Programme.

Also new to the Self-entry Awards for 2021 is Best Innovation in IR. For this award, the IR Society is seeking examples of innovation, transformation and modernisation which have taken place over the last 12-18 months. The objective of this award is to recognise and encourage continuous development and improvement in the IR industry.

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 Institutional Investor, as it seeks to address a wider audience and voting universe. Nominations are now being accepted for:

Best Newcomer to IR (individual)
Best IRO (individual)
Best Overall Company IR (company)
Best Investor Engagement (investor)

Laura Hayter, CEO, The IR Society, commented:

“The development and promotion of best practice in investor relations is at the heart of the IR Society, and our annual Best Practice Awards, now in their 21st year, are fundamental to this work. As we prepare to emerge from a global pandemic, experience ongoing changes in the regulatory environment and see greater demands from investors around ESG issues, our best practice awards are a great way to be recognised for excellence in investor relations. I therefore strongly encourage companies to enter and wish you all the very best of luck, and look forward to seeing you at the Awards dinner in November.”

Sallie Pilot, Director, Chief Insight and Engagement Officer, Black Sun, and Chair of the IR Society Best Practice Committee, said:

“Our Society Awards continue to champion best practice investor relations in the UK, Europe and beyond. Never before has communications and engagement between corporates and investors been more important. The work of the Best Practice Committee is to ensure that the Awards are at the forefront of market practice and capture the dynamic operating and regulatory environment companies and IROs are encountering on a day-to-day basis.

For 2021 we are pleased to announce a new award – Best Innovation in IR. We believe that a real opportunity exists for companies to embrace new ways of thinking and doing things, and our objective is to recognise and to encourage this continuous development and improvement in our industry.”

Entries to the 21st Annual Best Practice Awards are open to all companies from today, 28 April 2021. Nominations for the Voted Awards close on 7 May 2021 whilst entries for the Self-entry Awards remain open until 31 July 2021. 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.

For more information contact:

Laura Hayter, CEO, The IR Society
+44 20 7379 1763 or laura.hayter@irsociety.org.uk

Angus Prentice, Policy Consultant, The IR Society
+44 20 7379 1763 or angus.prentice@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 IR Society has over 800 members from the UK, Europe and beyond, including representatives from most FTSE 100 companies, a large number of FTSE 250 companies and several AIM and smaller companies, as well as IR advisers and service providers. For more information on the IR Society and the Best Practice Committee, visit irsociety.org.uk or connect with us on Twitter (@IRSocietyUK) or LinkedIn.

Published 27 April, 2021