News and analysis
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Why capital allocation is the new equity story in the AI era
A familiar pattern is dominating the current earnings season: companies deliver clean beats on revenue and earnings – then see their shares wobble or sell off as management outlines higher-than-expected capex and a longer-dated investment phase. Alphabet and Amazon are prominent examples, but the takeaway for CFOs and IROs is broader: capital allocation has become the equity story. In an AI-driven market, the debate is no longer simply about growth. It’s about how that growth is funded, how long elevated investment will persist and what returns the capex is expected to generate. Investors aren’t punishing ambition; they’re repricing capital intensity,…
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US boards answer to all shareholders, not just the loudest ones
There is a growing habit – mostly American, often loud – of treating ESG as a single cultural package: climate, DEI and whatever social flashpoint dominates the cycle. It makes for sharp copy. It is also a category error in the markets where stewardship decisions are actually made. In the UK and EU, ESG is regulated process: rules, disclosures and supervisory expectations designed to surface financially material sustainability risks. Think less ‘cause’, more ‘cash flow’. Across the UK and Europe, faith-based investing has long been expressed through formal, responsible-investment practice rather than culture-war branding. Since the 18th century, Church and…
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‘The next major challenge will be integrating AI in a scalable and value‑adding way’: Finnair’s Emilia Rannanniemi on approaching AI for IR
Emilia Rannanniemi, senior investor relations manager at Finnair, will be speaking about how she uses AI-driven market analysis to help benchmark her team’s IR performance and to free them up to concentrate on more strategic activities.
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The Polish miracle: How IR is finally catching up in the ‘second Japan’ predicted to outstrip the UK’s GDP
A new wave of Polish tech firms are bringing IR into the spotlight – shown by record attendance at the Polish IR Association conference at the end of 2025 Something is changing on the Polish IR scene. While the country’s economy has been booming – and booming – it is only in the past year […]
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How investor relations teams tackled roadshows last year
How long did you and your IR colleagues spend on the road last year? According to our latest research, you were travelling an average of 12.1 days for in-person roadshows in 2025 and a further 5.4 days on virtual roadshows. In total, according to our deputy editor Garnet Roach and the IR Impact research department, that means our readers spent a total of 3,520 days travelling for roadshows last year – or, if you like, a total of a decade.
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The CFO: ‘Good investor conversations are indicative of really good IR,’ says Essentra finance chief
Rowan Baker talks to IR Impact from inside the world of hidden – but essential – components In our first installment of The CFO for 2026, we talk to Rowan Baker, Essentra finance chief, about what she looks for from investor relations, why should moved out of the capital markets and back again and why being lower profile but essential helps drive a ‘great business’.
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People moves: Qualcomm brings in Brett Simpson as Jeanine Wai takes over IR team at Chevron
Nasdaq-listed semiconductor producer Qualcomm has appointed Brett Simpson as its new vice president of investor relations, in a move effective immediately. Simpson joins the company after more than 25 years as the co-founder and partner of Arete Research, where advised the world’s largest technology investors with expertise in semiconductors, AI computers and advanced technology supply chains, Qualcomm notes in a press release.
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Global Roadshow Report 2026 available now
Where are companies travelling when they go on the road? Which brokers are putting on the best roadshows? Which members of the C-suite are putting in more time for these vital events and are they more likely to attend in-person or virtually? These are just some of the insights you can pull from IR Impact’s […]
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‘Our performance is driven by embracing as many views and voices as possible’: James Thomson on how the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund ranks so highly
The Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund (GOF), with AUM of around $5.3 bn, has been ranked consistently highly in the global equity sector since James Thomson became lead manager in 2003. Rathbones Asset Management has a boutique structure which fosters autonomy, accountability and entrepreneurial spirit but the Rathbones Group is a trusted long-term partner with more than 100 years in wealth and investment management and $146 bn in client assets.
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People moves: Disney brings in Benjamin Swinburne as Airbus promotes Jean-Christophe Henoux
Global entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company has appointed Benjamin Swinburne as executive vice president of investor relations and corporate strategy.
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Why IR websites are moving from ‘platform-first’ to ‘flexibility-first’ in 2026
Most corporate investor websites were built for a simpler digital era. What used to be a dedicated IR microsite – hosted separately, updated through a vendor portal and managed via templated pages – no longer meets the demands of today’s digital environment.
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‘You sit down with tax collectors and prostitutes’: How Bowyer Research is reshaping proxy voting on the right
Bowyer Research first came to the attention of IR Impact – and many on the mainstream governance scene – when the firm’s ESG-skeptic voting policies were picked up by ISS. Today, those policies are available through all the major proxy voting advisory firms and Bowyer Research, which is essentially a mom-and-pop (plus kids) shop run out of Pennsylvania, advises many millions of dollars, including the $57 bn Texas Permanent School Fund. Jerry Bowyer, co-founded Bowyer Research with Susan, his wife of 31 years, , feels the right is playing catch up when it comes to equities and proxy voting –…
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How overseas investors are shaping the future of Brazil’s capital markets
No economy can develop without infrastructure. Roads, energy and technology underpin production, entrepreneurship and wealth creation. In capital markets, however, there is a less visible – yet equally essential – form of infrastructure that remains persistently underestimated: investor financial literacy.
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People moves: Karen Blomquist joins Albany International as GoldMining appoints Martin Dumont
Karen Blomquist has joined NYSE-listed materials science developer Albany International as its new director of investor relations. Formerly an investor relations consultant for BD Emerson, Blomquist joins Albany after two years as vice president of investor relations at P3 Health Partners.
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Use of the word ‘diversity’ in corporate disclosures drops sharply in 2025, research shows
New disclosure data shows how quickly corporate language can shift as boards respond to legal, regulatory and investor pressure Only 36 percent of the top 100 US companies mentioned the word ‘diversity’ in human capital management disclosures – compared to 96 percent who did so in 2024 – according to a new report which demonstrates […]
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A material focus: BlackRock refocuses its 2026 voting stance in a tumultuous proxy landscape
BlackRock’s updates its stewardship expectations for 2026 following criticism of its decarbonization plans in New York BlackRock will renew its focus on long-term financial performance and take a more pragmatic approach to environmental policies at investee companies in 2026, according to its updated US Stewardship guidelines for 2026, as proxy advisers and companies continue to […]
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Proxy season 2026: What to expect from rule 14a-8 changes
Governance experts share their predictions for the upcoming proxy season following the SEC’s pullback around shareholder proposals Among the tumult of 2025 was a November announcement from the SEC stating that it would reduce oversight of shareholder proposal disputes. Blaming ‘current resource and timing considerations following the lengthy government shutdown,’ the regulator said that it would end ‘substantial’ reviews of no-action requests under rule 14a-8, with the change applying to the proxy season running from October 2025 to September 2026 – as well as anything it hadn’t got to before the decision was made. You can read more about the…
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Inside IR at Advanced Energy: ‘IR can talk to the world, but we can’t disclose everything,’ says Edwin Mok
Investor relations draws people who are attracted to the art of weaving complex sets of facts into coherent narratives. They are finance people, they are storytellers and, because IR may be the most personal area of business, they often find their way to the profession from distant parts of the corporate universe. Edwin Mok is senior vice president, strategic marketing and investor relations at Advanced Energy. The company is a global leader in engineered, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions.
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People moves: Former head of IR takes over as CFO at Bank of Singapore
Bank of Singapore has appointed Collins Chin, formerly the head of IR of its parent company Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), as its new CFO. Chin joined OCBC in July 2009 as the head of group financial and management reporting, assuming the position of head of investor relations in May 2013. There, he led the Singapore Stock Exchange-listed bank’s engagement with the investment community and oversaw shareholder communications around capital raising and M&A initiatives.
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Beyond the quarter: Rethinking corporate reporting in the US
Amid a growing debate over the future of quarterly reporting, experts are weighing what a slower cadence of disclosure could mean As policymakers and corporate leaders debate the future of quarterly financial reporting in the US, a significant shift looms over how public companies communicate with investors and how they are held accountable. Beginning in […]
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From shareholder to managerial capitalism: how proxy firm regulation and 14a-8 reform will define IR in 2026
In October 2025, Tesla CEO Elon Musk deployed provocative language characterizing proxy advisors as ‘corporate terrorists’ following ISS’s recommendation that shareholders reject his proposed $1 trn compensation package. Musk argued that ISS and Glass Lewis ‘have no actual ownership themselves’ yet effectively control corporate governance outcomes through their recommendations to investors. This identifies a genuine agency problem: proxy advisors bear no economic consequences from their recommendations.
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One battle after another: Why the 2026 proxy season might be marked by activist ‘do-overs’ and M&A proposals
In the current critically-acclaimed film One battle after another, circumstances compel the lead character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, to revisit old conflicts and confront former adversaries. A similar narrative could prove to be one of the major themes in the shareholder activism world this year, as old battles flare up again and activists continue to push for improved corporate performance. My view is largely based on the momentum generated by last year’s high volume of activist campaigns, coupled with the fact that a large percentage of those contests were resolved via negotiated settlements between the activists and the target companies’…
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People moves: Joris Silon takes over as head of IR at AstraZeneca as Dollar Tree brings in Daniel Delrosario
London-listed biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has brought in Joris Silon as its new head of IR, in a move effective from 1 March. Silon, who previously served as the firm’s country president for AstraZeneca US, will replace Andy Barnett, who is taking up another internal position.
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Managing expectations in 2026: Why valuation stability depends on perception, not just performance
As companies move through 2026, one lesson stands out clearly: delivering strong results is no longer sufficient to protect valuation. Across markets in 2025, share-price volatility was driven less by execution and more by misalignment between investor expectations and management’s forward-looking narrative. In this environment, the IR function has become a strategic discipline. Beyond communicating performance, IR teams are increasingly responsible for aligning market perception with a company’s long-term value creation path. When that alignment breaks down, even earnings beats can result in sharp corrections, elevated volatility and weakened investor confidence.
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The six hats shaping the IRO role in 2026
Investor relations has never been a static function, but the pace and breadth of change now shaping the role today underscore a redefinition of how IR contributes to enterprise leadership. What once felt like incremental role expansion is becoming a structural rewrite of the job itself.
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‘I want us to have influence on the big issues IROs are facing,’ says Investor Relations Society’s new CEO
Having taken the society’s CEO reins from Laura Hayter in October last year, Matt Hall spent his first months in listening mode, keen to hear what the UK’s IR professionals need from the body that represents them, learning about the big issues that are changing investor relations and thinking about how he can shape a society that delivers ‘value and insight’ at every touchpoint. Prior to taking on his new role, Hall held senior roles at various other representative membership organizations within financial and professional services, including UK Finance, the Chartered Insurance Institute and TheCityUK. Here, he tells IR Impact…
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IR in the age of AI: How answer engine optimization will transform content visibility
Content visibility and engagement are always key priorities for IR professionals. As AI and large language models (LLMs) become a primary source of information for buy-side and sell-side analysts, content visibility and narrative control are constantly shifting, creating new challenges in how audiences discover and engage with IR corporate content.
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People moves: Amit Bhalla swaps IR for global strategy at Schneider Electric as Sarah Fakih joins Evotec
Amit Bhalla, the long-serving head of IR at Schneider Electric, has moved into a new role in the energy management solution company’s global strategy team.
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Janet Craig: Ten things I am doing to up my IR game in 2026
Predictably, as I moved into the New Year, I thought about what I wanted to accomplish over the coming 12 months. There are many opportunities for professional development, but my focus is on areas where I can hone my craft, build relationships and pay it forward. Here are 10 IR things I want to do in 2026:
Spotlight Content
Off-season engagement highlights shifting views on ESG
Companies ponder how to keep talking about sustainability We’re coming to the end of ‘off season’ – when many companies go out on the road to engage with key institutional investors ahead of their annual shareholder meeting. According to a recent IR Magazine survey, around two thirds of IR teams say they have a program…
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