At a recent New York Society of Security Analysts conference, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter managing director and chief investment strategist Byron Wien said something most investor relations officers are loath to hear: ‘When I was a securities analyst there were virtually no IR people – it was wonderful. When companies started hiring IROs, we viewed them as a lower form of life.’
So what’s Wien’s beef anyway, and why is he singing Who let the dogs out?’ He wants what every Wall Street analyst wants: access to management. He wants to hear the story straight from the horse’s mouth and resents having to settle for credibility-lacking lowlifes.
Wien’s wisecrack flies in the face of what most IROs like to believe. A recent Niri survey discovered virtually all IROs (92 percent) believe investment professionals are comfortable with them speaking for management about general business topics. The large majority consider themselves credible spokespeople regarding historical analysis of financial performance, interpretation of current financial performance, future strategic direction, and prospects for future financial performance.
While the good news is IROs have become the spokespeople for corporate America, the bad news is IROs have become the spokespeople for corporate America.
Ironically, both the sell side and IR communities bash each other for lack of credibility and accuse the other of merely parroting management’s words without so much as adding a single original thought.
The truth is, both groups find themselves in the middle of a high-stakes dialogue between corporate brass and the big bucks, and both resent their dependence upon the other to help them do their job. Regulation FD hasn’t made things any easier; it has just helped downgrade these two antagonistic bedfellows to a smaller bed.
Most IROs (nearly 80 percent of the Niri respondents) say they have the access to top leadership needed to be credible communicators. In this business, credibility is king – IROs need to show the Street that they operate within their management’s real-time information loop.
Certain factors may bring this credibility into question, such as when IROs have to communicate highly complex information (see Tech talk). Studies show that good IR makes for good business practice and presumably this leads to other things. IROs are being brought into the loop earlier (see Taking wing) and, at times, are becoming involved in shaping company strategy (see Strategic direction).
Will Byron Wien et al ever be satisfied to deal with IROs instead of CFOs? Probably not. At least, not until those IROs themselves take over as CFO. IROs shouldn’t lose heart – after all, staying in the loop has its benefits.
