IR Magazine has released a new report highlighting both the challenges IR teams have faced and objectives they have focused on throughout 2019 and 2020. The report also looks at how investors view the challenges facing IR over this period. Findings are based on the IR Magazine Global IR Survey conducted in Q1 2020 and the IR Magazine Global Investor Survey conducted in Q4 2019.
This report breaks down the challenges and objectives identified into internal corporate-related issues, external market-related issues and other issues such as ESG and macroeconomics. Findings from both investors and IROs highlight the increasing importance of ESG to IR.
Key findings
- Investor/analyst-related issues were the most common IR challenges faced in 2019.
- Challenges relating to capital markets account for 42 percent of all mentions. Corporate challenges account for 28 percent.
- Capital markets challenges were highest in North America, corporate challenges were lowest in Asia.
- Smaller companies have a greater concern for external challenges and larger companies saw more corporate challenges.
- The highest number of 2020 IR objectives have an investor focus.
- A third of IR objectives mentioned concern ESG.
- ESG goals are most common in Europe, investor goals are most common in Asia.
- Investors see ESG as the biggest challenge for IR teams through 2019 and 2020, followed by macroeconomic and geopolitical issues.
- European investors give more consideration to ESG and less to macroeconomics than investors from other regions.
- The buy side is more concerned with ESG than the sell side: ESG accounts for 40 percent of all buy-side mentions.
