On October 19, the Canadian IR community logged in to join the first ever virtual IR Magazine Awards – Canada. Hundreds of people tuned into the event, which built on the success of the virtual IR Magazine Awards in the US and Europe.
There were 27 trophies presented on the night, each with an acceptance speech. In the article below, we highlight many of the winners’ stories and hear how these leading IR teams have navigated the Covid-19 pandemic.
Winners of these awards were selected by two methodologies: the researched awards are based on a survey of hundreds of members of the investment community, and the winners of the nominated awards are selected from a short list by an independent judging panel.
Agnico Eagle Mines
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Best overall investor relations (large cap) – joint winner
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Best investor relations officer (large cap) – Brian Christie
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Best IR by a senior management team (large cap) – Sean Boyd (CEO) and David Smith (CFO)
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Best in sector: materials (large cap)
Agnico Eagle Mines won four awards at this year’s event, following on from its five victories last year. Brian Christie, vice president of investor relations, acknowledges that the company has had ‘a very active IR program for 15-20 years’, but this year has still been a challenge. During the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak, Christie contacted the company’s top 50 investors to update them on how the business would be affected – including the temporary closure of seven out of eight operating mines. In this video, he talks about how Agnico Eagle Mines has embraced virtual investor marketing, giving the management team enhanced access to investors around the world.
Altus Group
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Best overall investor relations (small cap)
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Best in sector: financials & real estate (small to mid-cap)
The Covid-19 pandemic has ‘really underpinned the importance of investor targeting,’ says Camilla Bartosiewicz, vice president of investor relations. ‘Cultivating a strong shareholder base has allowed Altus Group’s share price to fare well, and having targeted, high-quality institutional long-term, growth-oriented shareholders has helped us withstand some of the volatility we saw earlier this year.’
Much like ARC Resources, Altus Group has experienced a CEO transition this year, which Bartosiewicz says required the IR team to ‘step up its frequency and transparency’ of communication – resorting to providing regular updates on macro trends affecting the firm’s sector.
This is an extract of a feature from the Winter 2020 issue of IR Magazine. Click here to read the full article
