By David Calusdian, President
Strategic Messaging, Financial Communication, Industrial Investor Relations, Investor Relations, IR Trends, IR Recommendations
By Will Dyke, Senior Associate
Strategic Messaging, Financial Communication, Earnings Call, Investor Relations, IR Trends, IR Recommendations
By Sharon Merrill Associates
Awards, Sharon Merrill Associates, Investor Relations Agency, Investor Relations
By Sharon Merrill Associates
Investor Relations, Trends, IR Trends, Investor Relations Trends, what's in and what's out
By David Calusdian, President
Investment Thesis, SEC, CFO, Financial Communication, Investor Relations, ESG
By Polly Pearson , Senior Vice President
Strategic Messaging, Corporate Governance, Reputation Management, start-up IR, private company IR
By David Calusdian, President
An effective program for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) management and communication can fundamentally make an organization stronger, more resilient and more attractive to investors and other key stakeholders, while helping to mitigate long-term risks.
In today’s blog we talk to Evan Zall about how to incorporate public relations into an ESG program. Zall is President of Longview Strategies, a strategic marketing and communications firm with an emphasis on sustainability and finance. With more than 20 years in strategic marketing, Evan believes that strong communications can resolve a great number of complex challenges in the world – and clarifying connections between sustainability and profit is one of those challenges. Evan has been a speaker at national and regional sustainable investing forums, is a founding member of PR Masterminds, and is a contributor to the upcoming book, “Aligning Hearts, Minds, Wallets: A Collective Experience (Reshaping Capitalism for the Greater Global Good).”
Strategic Messaging, Corporate Governance, Public Relations, ESG
By Maureen Wolff, Chief Executive Officer
With a record $20 billion+ flowing into ESG oriented funds in 2019 in the US alone there is no denying that a compelling Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) platform has become a critical component of investor relations programs and overall communications for corporations of all sizes. Investors, proxy advisory firms and debt rating agencies are demanding it. And, other stakeholders including employees, customers, strategic M&A suitors and suppliers are increasingly considering ESG practices in deciding where to work and with whom to conduct business.
ESG can fundamentally make an organization stronger, more resilient and more attractive to key stakeholders, while helping to mitigate long-term risks. At the same time, the lack of an ESG strategy and sustainability narrative can leave a company exposed and at risk on several fronts.
ESG data is being used on every public company today, whether the companies have released ESG information or not. As BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated in his 2019 Letter to CEOs, “In the absence of robust disclosures, investors, including BlackRock, will increasingly conclude that companies are not adequately managing risk.” Additionally, BlackRock along with State Street and other institutions have committed to vote against directors at companies that do not demonstrate a commitment to ESG.
The events of recent months -- including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice movement -- have further amplified the need for greater corporate focus on a range of ESG initiatives, including risk oversight, supply chain security, IT infrastructure, employee safety, talent management and diversity and inclusion.
While doing nothing on the ESG front is clearly no longer a viable option, implementing an ESG program can seem overwhelming -- particularly if publishing a full-scale sustainability report that meets GRI or other standards would not be feasible for your company right now.
The good news is that ESG is a journey, not a sprint. By taking a few strategic first steps to put a stake in the ground, you can establish a strong ESG foundation to build upon over time and earn tremendous credit from investors, employees, customers and the society at large.
We’ve guided many companies through this “walk before you run” approach. Here is where we suggest you start:
Strategic Messaging, Corporate Governance, Investor Meetings, Presentation Training, Crisis Communications, IRO, Financial Communication, Shareholder Communications, Investor Relations, Investor Relations Firm, IR Trends, Investor Relations Trends, Corporate Communications, Investor Relations Websites, IR Recommendations, ESG
By David Calusdian of Sharon Merrill, and David Fine of Fine Communications
Two investor day experts combine experience to deliver best practices on leveraging digital platforms to deliver a compelling virtual investor day.
The investor day is one of the most effective platforms for presenting your company’s strategy, outlining your long-term targets and showcasing the depth and strength of your management team. With the world moving to virtual formats for the foreseeable future, IROs are faced with a new task – mastering virtual investor day planning. This pivot presents new challenges as well as exciting new opportunities to engage and communicate critical messages with the investment community.
The following are top tips for IROs to master to execute a successful virtual investor day:
Investor Presentation, Investor Day, Investor Relations Agency, Investor Meetings, Presentation Training, Crisis Communications, IRO, Shareholder Communications, Investor Relations, Investor Relations Firm, IR Trends, Corporate Communications, Investor Event Planning, Event Planning
By Polly Pearson, Senior Vice President
5 Ways to Enhance Your Virtual Presence with Institutional Investors
In the coming quarter (and possibly quarters), the inability of your management team to travel during the pandemic should not derail your pending investor meetings and non-deal roadshow plans. Virtual non-deal roadshows offer an easy, high-ROI means of positioning your company with receptive institutional investors. In fact, this is a real-time need. Active investors are in the market looking for stories and opportunities while market volatility is still offering favorable valuations. Help them help you. Consider putting your company out there to offer virtual (on-line), face-to-face investor meetings to best connect active investors with your refreshed story. With virtual meetings, both sides of the interaction are guaranteed to be more engaged in what is said. Use this moment of attention to build deeper and “real” relationships with existing and prospective investors to introduce your refreshed story. Virtually.
Following are five tips to help you conduct virtual one-on-one investor meetings and NDRs.
Investor Presentation, Investor Relations Agency, Investor Meetings, Presentation Training, Crisis Communications, IRO, Shareholder Communications, Investor Relations, Investor Relations Firm, Corporate Communications
