tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690Fri, 13 Sep 2024 08:41:55 +0000Opinions on changing rules, changing best practices, and their effect on investor relations officers.http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)Blogger216125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-334881812268618453Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:37:00 +00002011-06-30T14:37:12.947+00:00It’s that time of year again. Across the land, IR, company secretarial and corp comms teams are gathering their thoughts about the direction their annual reports should take. What will the class of 2011 annual reports look like? So I was interested to see what “How does it stack up” from Radley Yeldar (see disclosures) had to say. This is against a background of changing regulation. Reporting ishttp://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/06/borrowing-some-great-ideas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-2610792591089549393Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:11:00 +00002011-06-16T08:15:13.921+00:00New research from CSFI says the pre-eminence of the formal sell side is under renewed attack from the independent research sector. This will inevitably change some of the targets that IR aims at. A few years ago, at a financial conference in Texas – well, it would be – FD’s were asked what IR teams did all day. They answered “deal with the sell side”. This very depressing answer hides the http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/06/independent-research-on-rise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-7812799831400139585Thu, 26 May 2011 08:12:00 +00002011-05-26T08:12:23.517+00:00"Quality of stewardship should drive mandates, the way quality of stock picking does,” This quote from the UK sustainable investment and finance association came in the run up to the launch of the UK Stewardship Code. There were some doubting Thomases who argued that the Code would become nothing more than a box ticking exercise, and that true engagement would take a while to happen. However a http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/stewardship-report-improving-but-some.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6431973968503945304Thu, 12 May 2011 13:14:00 +00002011-05-13T20:39:16.469+00:00It can be a struggle to win eyeballs for the IR website. And when you have got them there, it would be nice if they stayed around for a bit. The IR website as we know is a key part of the IR team’s communications armoury. So it is slightly troubling that regulators are planning on making it mandatory for users of websites to ‘opt in’ to cookies, rather than opt out. Another potential http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/cookies-rule.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-2325997710922165963Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:17:00 +00002011-04-13T09:27:03.801+00:00OK, change of pace. Regulators have pushed more “stuff” for us to digest on EU level corporate governance and cutting the clutter in annual reports etc. And we will have to get our heads round this avalanche. Oh joy. But beyond the rules, experimentation on how build stronger informational links with audiences is taking place.What I find so interesting about all this regulatory focus is the http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/04/mind-gaps.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-3024519828483861919Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:42:00 +00002011-03-24T14:13:12.393+00:00When we will see any conclusions to the narrative reporting debate published by Government. I sometimes feel like we're Theseus in the labyrinth - but without Ariadne's help to find the way out.1. The BIS / Narrative Reporting Consultation Paper, which noted “The Government will publish its conclusions at the end of the year” closed in October 2010. In it they asked some very detailed questions, http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/narrative-reporting-any-nearer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6190882283968863948Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:26:00 +00002011-03-16T17:33:31.866+00:00A gathering of the great and good in this fast changing aspect of corporate reporting. I much appreciated the invitation to attend.It was an excellent thematic discussion of many elements of the governance reporting debate, around the new guidance (developed by the ICSA for the FRC) on board effectiveness, including board decision making, composition, evaluation, and shareholder relations.As I http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/and-so-to-icsa-governance-conference.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-7718933746450312299Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:26:00 +00002011-02-23T12:33:30.667+00:00As UK Plc and UK investors get to grips with the engagement process, it is useful to look at what’s going on in the US. 2 interesting pieces of work are helpful.First new research on “The State of Engagement between U.S. Corporations and Shareholders”, from ISS and the IRRC. The research asked investors (both owners and managers) and public companies their views on engagement.The resources used, http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/engagement-process-continues-to-evolve.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6104749902857519849Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:30:00 +00002011-02-18T08:08:00.303+00:00With so many off skiing soon, I was thinking of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Jealous? Me?One of the papers presented there was “Accelerating the Transition towards Sustainable Investing”, to which I contributed. I was reminded of it this week, by the launch of an interesting Economist Intelligence Unit study of how limited was corporate reporting on sustainability goals and practices.First http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/sustainable-investment-growing-but_17.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-5142985258389844583Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:30:00 +00002011-02-17T14:30:42.375+00:00With so many off skiing soon, I was thinking of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Jealous? Me? One of the papers presented there was “Accelerating the Transition towards Sustainable Investing”, to which I contributed. I was reminded of it this week, by the launch of an interesting Economist intelligence Unit study of how limited was corporate reporting on sustainability goals and practices. http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/sustainable-investment-growing-but.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-4159514429769389960Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:11:00 +00002011-02-10T13:15:15.414+00:00A “true powerhouse in the global exchange business”, notes the launch of the potential merger between the London Stock Exchange and the TMX Group. Meanwhile, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse have announced their own plans to merge. This signals another wave of exchange consolidation, following that of 5 years ago, when NYSE Euronext was created through the takeover by the New York Stock Exchange http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/exchange-consolidation-on-move-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-2593842497324540463Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-01-27T10:04:09.551+00:00The old joke goes of a couple asking directions, only to be told ‘I wouldn’t start from here if I were you’. Some IRO’s must sometimes feel the same way. How do you start developing an IR strategy without knowing where you are starting from?And yet that is precisely the situation many IRO’s across Europe feel. Their national – and European level - disclosure obligations do not allow companies in http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-white-paper-argues-that-shareholder.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6843147686559792228Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:28:00 +00002011-01-07T08:32:39.774+00:00To coin a phrase, the search goes on, although this time it’s good narrative reporting which is the quarry, not an apprentice. As preparers wrestle with the task of telling the company’s story in a way that is at once readable, targeted and compliant, new rules on annual reporting are once again on the horizon. In mid December, 2 key standard setters wrote about how best practice should evolve.(http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/to-coin-phrase-search-goes-on-although.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6196002623279107951Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:58:00 +00002010-12-02T13:07:27.159+00:00Its great in theory. As we sit among the early winter in the UK, with airports closed, the virtual investor conference looks to have a lot of merits.The importance to the sell side of corporate access is growing, with huge soft dollar benefits to the investment bank. Investor conferences play an important role in creating those relationships. At the same time, many investor conferences are being http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/iros-as-travel-agents-thing-of-past.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-4181470519495756172Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:53:00 +00002010-11-11T12:01:11.327+00:00Achieving a fair valuation remains the central objective of IR. And as always, we remember it is not the ‘best’ valuation, for many reasons. A new book “Corporate Valuation for Portfolio Investment” by Robert A. G. Monks and Alexandra Reed LaJoux offers a number of views on valuation. In addition to defining the techniques and processes of valuation (“quant jocks”), Monks argues that few http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/challenges-in-governance-reporting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-5528894522704229366Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:54:00 +00002010-10-28T13:57:11.165+00:00So yet another stock exchange merger/acquisition (Singapore and Australia) waiting in the wings. The consolidations seem to go on and on. However a fundamental question is over the role of an ‘exchange’ in today’s fragmented world, and whether IR should take an interest. The traditional view is that exchanges provide a trusted place where companies can raise capital, and investors trade their http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/role-of-exchange-is.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-5941760718478288491Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:32:00 +00002010-09-30T14:36:18.859+00:00The New York Stock Exchange Commission on Corporate Governance has delivered its views on the way forward on corporate governance. After a year-long investigation it has published ten key principles for what it calls “solid governance”. It signals a move away from a prescriptive rules-based governance regime that has been the hallmark of previous efforts, to a market-based, principles approach. http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/improved-us-governance-and-share-id.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-8214760141174589516Thu, 16 Sep 2010 07:53:00 +00002010-09-16T07:59:20.380+00:00Yesterday I was asked to the ABI Investment conference, to join a panel on board evaluations. My bit was about communicating the result.It is an interesting dilemma. At one level the board evaluation is a great opportunity to communicate with long term shareholders (and the conference obviously was largely focussed on them, rather than the range of short term holders). Communicating an http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/board-evaluation-what-to-share-publicly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-5729408810593595202Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:05:00 +00002010-09-06T10:08:48.732+00:00Hands up, who has heard of the European Federation for Retirement Provision? No, didn’t think so. And yet they have made a really important point in their contribution to the ongoing EU-wide stewardship debate. Governance – and the ES bit – should not just be about shareholders, it should include bond holders as well.What are – or should be – the appropriate levels of corporate governance http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/engagement-on-governance-issues-by-debt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-2924986234240168741Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:58:00 +00002010-08-12T09:01:14.282+00:00Interesting commentary this week around the use of bulletin boards to disseminate ‘news’ – or ‘lies’ according to some sources - to drive down the share price in order to profit from short-selling. A group of oil companies have turned to the courts to get 2 online brokers to remove stories from their bulletin boards, which the companies claim are "untrue and malicious" messages.The City of Londonhttp://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/malicious-lies-or-fair-comment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-9045884613548778752Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:42:00 +00002010-07-29T08:45:40.991+00:00The Takeover Panel’s review of its rules closed earlier this week (you can see the IR Society response here). Now with serendipitous timing, HMG has published its reaction to the BIS Select Committee report on the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft : see here. This is an interesting and important document setting out in high level terms the coalition Government's position on many governance related http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/post-cadbury-review-changes-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-2312674206003023357Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:31:00 +00002010-07-15T07:37:33.102+00:00There are currently 4 open consultations which will potentially impact those of us in the IR profession. Time to say what we think! The IR Society Policy Committee is drafting responses right now, and would love to hear from you.First, from Europe, a review of the Market Abuse Directive. Much of it seems to be about the regulators themselves, but there is a question around market manipulation, http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-regulation-is-bane-of-iros-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-3262087059030865417Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:21:00 +00002010-07-01T14:24:32.883+00:00Someone once said to me that being an IRO was a cross between being an accountant and a travel agent. The road show schedule of many an IRO can be punishing. So I was intrigued by 2 events this week.First the research published by Brian Rivel on virtual investor conferences. As his piece in Bulldog notes, the technology is embryo, but nonetheless one out of four sell- and buy-side investment http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/virtual-investor-conferences.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6773378388174892096Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:47:00 +00002010-06-10T08:51:32.045+00:00The Global Reporting Initiative is a not for profit organisation, supported by ‘stakeholders’ ranging from individuals, to companies and governments. Their aim is improve the communication of ESG information to investors and other users, so that it becomes as commonplace as financial reporting. To help, they have created a framework against which companies are increasingly reporting. The http://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/and-so-to-gri-conference-to-give-talk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13817690.post-6850922130627165176Fri, 04 Jun 2010 07:36:00 +00002010-06-04T07:40:05.059+00:00Its that time again. NIRI National conference will take place next week, and we are full of hope and expectation. I see that the opening session has the optimistic title “Deliver Your Message with Confidence: Owning the Conversation”.There is a subtext to this year’s NIRI that has a personal ring to it (see disclosure below). The issue is whether digital disclosure alone can meet the needs of allhttp://transparencymatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-would-iro-limit-news-dissemination.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark Hynes)3