Almost a third of IR budgets are now more than $1 mn, according to the latest survey of IR trends by The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon).
In its sixth study of global IR practices, BNY Mellon finds that 29 percent of companies have seven-figure budgets (in US dollars), up from 21 percent since the last survey was conducted in January 2009.
The survey also notes that only 47 percent of respondents now have budgets of less than $500,000, compared to 57 percent in last year’s survey.
The amount of money devoted to IR differs widely between regions, however. Companies in western Europe, North America and Latin America have far larger budgets than those in Asia Pacific and emerging Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMEA), finds BNY Mellon.
Western European companies have the largest median IR budget, coming in at $775,000. North American companies get a median budget of $625,000 and Latin American companies $500,000.
By contrast, the Asia Pacific median budget is just $125,000, while EEMEA’s is $250,000.
In addition, BNY Mellon notes that IR departments in developed markets are far better off than their peers in emerging markets. The median developed market budget is $500,000, double the $250,000 of emerging markets.
The full survey covers a range of topics from measuring IR effectiveness to guidance policies. This year’s survey – conducted between July 13 and August 18 – canvassed responses from 371 companies.
Global IR budgets
| Mega | Large | Mid | Small | Micro | |
| Average budget | $1,076,000 | $1,125,000 | $612,000 | $392,000 | $253,000 |
| Median budget | $800,000 | $800,000 | $500,000 | $250,000 | $100,00 |
Source: The Bank of New York Mellon
