News and analysis
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What makes an equity narrative compelling? An investor survey offers clear perspective
In today’s competitive capital markets, crafting a compelling equity narrative is more than a communications exercise; it is a strategic imperative. But what distinguishes the enduring from the generic? BNY’s Market Insights and Initiatives team, in partnership with S&P Global, surveyed 40 institutional investors across six continents, representing $2 trillion in equity assets under management, to answer this question.
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Responsible AI adoption in IR: from intimidation to impact
AI is everywhere in investor relations today. Yet for many IR teams, the journey from curiosity to confidence is anything but straightforward. The ’empty prompt window’ syndrome and uncertainty around where to start and how to trust the technology remain real.
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Looking back at a year of ‘The CFO’: How finance chiefs measure IR success
We’re rounding up another year of IR Impact’s flagship interview series The CFO, where we talk investor relations with finance chiefs from around the world. January 2026 will mark two years of speaking to finance leaders about all things IR. Kurt Barton from Tractor Supply Company was first in The CFO seat two years ago and Dominique Barker, CFO and head of sustainability at Canada’s Lithium Royalties Corp, closed 2025. We always ask CFOs a question about how they measure the success of their IR program, as the nature of the profession makes it notoriously difficult to assess. But proving…
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‘Market volatility necessitates a more thoughtful approach’: Four things we learned at the IR Impact Forum – Greater China 2025
The Hong Kong event brought together IR professionals and capital market experts to explore how the IR function should adapt When volatility and concentration risk become part of the backdrop for Chinese IROs targeting investors globally, new challenges emerge. From tailored engagement strategies to navigating unfamiliar capital market expertise, securing long-term investors requires consistency, long-term engagement and market insight. The IR Impact Forum […]
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IR for video games, AI for engagement and the Big Three’s voting policies: What you read in 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, it feels like we are wrapping up a particularly momentous year in the capital markets. In the past 12 months, we’ve seen the global markets grapple with seismic macroeconomic shifts – including Donald Trump’s return to the White House, ongoing instability in Europe and the Middle East, plus the ever-evolving role of AI – as well as more localized changes to the day-to-day of IROs.
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The CFO: ‘Too much material can be a detractor to investment,’ says Lithium Royalty Corp finance chief
When she took the top finance role at Toronto-headquartered Lithium Royalty Corp, Dominique Barker brought her experience on the buy side, the sell side and in ESG advisory – all of which feeds into her approach to investor relations and sustainability. In the closing interview of our 2025 series of The CFO, Barker talks to IR Impact about finding a host of women in charge at a high-altitude brine, bridging the gap between mining and the energy transition, and the supper club she’s part of with multi-award winning IR Impact Awards judge Janet Craig.
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‘The tolerance for inconsistency is zero’: Four things we learned at the IR Impact Forum – South East Asia 2025
The Singapore event brought together 100 senior IR experts to examine how the IR function is evolving The IR Impact Forum – South East Asia 2025 brought around 100 IR professionals to the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) on December 2 to discuss how the IR function is evolving in the region. A series of panel […]
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The IR Benchmarking Report 2026 Global & Europe available now
A new year, a new name. In recognition of our flagship IR Benchmarking Tool, launched in early 2025, our long-running Global Practice Report has become the IR Benchmarking Report Bringing you research from several hundred IR professionals, it offers insights into everything from budgets and IR team analysis to sell-side coverage across markets caps and […]
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The IR Benchmarking Report 2026 Global & North America available now
This year we bring you a brand new, revamped IR Benchmarking Report that couples our survey research with interview and data from our flagship IR Benchmarking Tool. Alongside the data – covering everything from budgets to gender breakdowns, from analyst numbers to senior management attendance at virtual and in-person meetings – this report offers a […]
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People moves: CBIZ brings in Christopher Sikora as Reinsurance Group of America appoints Ryan Krueger
Professional services company CBIZ has brought in Christopher Sikora as its new vice president, investor relations and corporate finance. The NYSE-listed firm describes Sikora as ‘an accomplished investor relations professional with extensive experience in finance, strategy and corporate development’ in a press release announcing the move.
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‘If you’ve worked in politics, the stock market doesn’t scare you’: Håkan Tribell on swapping writing a prime minister’s speeches for managing IR at AAC Clyde Space
Most people’s route into IR follows one of two predictable paths: either a start on the sell-side, where they gain an aptitude for understanding financial research, or via an internal route that may take in financial planning, treasury or accountancy roles. For Håkan Tribell, it was a career writing speeches for the Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson that set him up perfectly to join satellite technology and services company AAC Clyde Space as its head of communications for investor relations and public affairs earlier this year. In July, that role expanded to take on ‘the full spectrum of marketing and…
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Passive investors driving active opportunities: how fund flows are shaping how IR teams direct their time
Recent IR Impact briefing, held alongside Nasdaq, explores the implications of the ongoing passive shift As passive ownership continues to grow, how companies interpret trading activity and allocate their investor engagement efforts is shifting in parallel. A recent IR Impact briefing, in association with Nasdaq, brought together Jacquelynn Bohlen (head of IR, Columbia Banking System), Stephanie Bui (co-head, investor engagement, Americas, Nasdaq) and Prabhdeep Sagoo (senior director, market and shareholder […]
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As Trump signs executive order targeting ISS and Glass Lewis, experts say change is already happening
‘Unbeknownst to many Americans, two foreign-owned proxy advisors, ISS and Glass Lewis, play a significant role in shaping the policies and priorities of America’s largest companies through the shareholder voting process,’ wrote US President Donald Trump on Thursday as – after weeks of rumor – he signed an executive order targeting the two firms. In it, Trump advises everyone from the SEC to the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor to put a regulatory spotlight on the big two. The rhetoric leading up to the signing was fierce: SEC chairman Paul Atkins talked about the ‘weaponization…
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People moves: Medtronic’s Ryan Weispfenning to lead IR at diabetes spin-off
Ryan Weispfenning, head of IR at the multiple IR Impact award-winning team at Medtronic, is taking up a new role in the team at the medical device company’s diabetes spin-off. The news comes as Ingrid Goldberg has been named as Weispfenning’s replacement, with both changes coming into effect as of December 8.
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‘I have a love-hate relationship with earnings season’: Stonehage Fleming’s head of equity funds Tom Jeffcoate on working with IR
When Stonehage and Fleming Family & Partners merged in 2015, the resulting institution became one of Europe’s largest multi-family offices which today manages more than $175 bn on behalf of some of the world’s high net worth dynasties in 14 geographies. Tom Jeffcoate, who serves as the fund’s head of equity funds today, joined Stonehage before the merger in 2009, working side-by-side with Gerrit Smit, global best ideas lead fund manager and today head of the company’s global equity offering. Now he oversees company research within the equity management team, with a special focus on in-depth, bottom-up research covering firms…
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Glass Lewis tightens US oversight of board powers in broader 2026 proxy rethink
Glass Lewis released its 2026 Benchmark Policy Guidelines on December 5, setting out notable changes for its policies for companies in the US, Canada, the UK and continental Europe. The updated guidelines, which apply to shareholder meetings held after 1 January 2026, indicate a shift away from rigid, uniform voting prescriptions and towards one with more customization and sees proxy advisors act more as research providers than as standard setters.
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IPOs, crypto and deregulation: The SEC prepares for a shift in 2026
Hot off the heels of his NYSE address, SEC chair lays out his vision for the Commission in 2026 and beyond On December 2, 2025, SEC chairman Paul Atkins rang the opening bell at the NYSE and delivered a keynote address titled Revitalizing America’s markets at 250. In a sweeping vision for the future of […]
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Hon Hai Precision Industry sweeps to victory with five trophies at the IR Impact Awards – Greater China 2025
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co almost made a clean sweep at the IR Impact Awards – Greater China 2025 after its team picked up five awards. The New Taipei City-based firm picked up the trophies for best in sector – technology, best CEO letter and best buy-side management.
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From the sell side to the buy side and into IR, William Houston starts a new role at Unilever
‘It’s a company I’ve long admired, having analyzed it on the sell-side at UBS and Rothschild & Co Redburn and invested on the buy side as a portfolio manager at Norges Bank Investment Management,’ writes William Houston on LinkedIn as he joins the Unilever IR team. As well as his time on both the buy and sell sides, Houston spent almost six years at BAT, most recently as head of investor sustainability, investor relations. He has also been a regular voice in IR Impact articles – talking about the evolution of ESG data, for example – as well as sharing…
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Do ISS and Glass Lewis have too much influence? Yes, say most – but that doesn’t mean it’s not political
I’ve spent much of the past week having conversations with governance people – and one very small proxy advisory firm – about their takes on the debate raging around the influence of the big two: ISS and Glass Lewis. Recent weeks have seen talk of the ‘weaponization of shareholder proposals’; Elon Musk has famously described them as ‘corporate terrorists’; the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump is considering an executive order to curb the power of the proxy advisors, as well as the fact that these two behemoths are facing an anti-trust investigation for their roles in…
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Inside IR at Itron: ‘Part of IR’s DNA is being immune to being surprised,’ says Paul Vincent
How do IROs leverage their expertise within their companies? For Paul Vincent, VP of IR at Itron, the core of IR lies not only in conveying the company’s message but doing so in a way particular to each investor and analyst. Itron supplies innovative technologies that help utilities and cities manage energy and water. Vincent believes IR should help management shape strategy based on its own best judgment, not by deferring to investors’ views. IR’s job, he says, is to understand every individual investor and analyst so thoroughly as to communicate management’s thinking in the way each is prepared to…
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CP Axtra and PTT Exploration and Production lead with three wins at the IR Impact Awards – South East Asia 2025
Two Thai companies – CP Axtra and PTT Exploration and Production – led the way at this year’s IR Impact Awards – South East Asia after each scooped three trophies at the event, held at the Singapore Exchange on December 2. Energy company PTT Exploration and Production won the award for best overall investor relations (large cap) while its head of IR Nattapol Tachavaraporn won the title of best investor relations officer (large cap). It also took home the trophy for the best use of social media and video. Meanwhile, retail and wholesale firm CP Axtra was recognized for best…
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The rising influence of retail investors in M&A votes
Retail investors are increasingly shaping corporate governance and M&A transactions, driven by accessible financial platforms and a growing willingness to exercise their shareholder voting rights. Unlike institutional investors, who have historically dominated shareholder votes, retail investors represent a dynamic and expanding bloc that companies must engage strategically. This article examines the rise of retail investor influence, key drivers of their participation and actionable strategies for corporations to leverage this trend in critical M&A votes.
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People moves: L&G brings in Andy Sinclair as its new chief strategy and investor relations officer
UK-listed investment manager Legal & General (L&G) has appointed Andy Sinclair as its new chief strategy and investor relations officer. In his new role, which he will take up in January 2026, Sinclair will report to CEO António Simões and will be a member of Andrew Kail’s CFO leadership team.
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‘Investors will leave money on the table if you don’t use AI’: four lessons we learned at the AI & Technology Forum – 2025
Unsurprisingly for those who read IR Impact regularly, AI is still considered one of the most transformative forces, not just for the IR profession, but for the capital markets in general. That may explain why more than 150 IR professionals gathered in New York in November to gain exclusive access to real-world case studies and insights from leading IROs, tech innovators and companies already using AI in their IR programs.
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The CFO: ‘I always tell my team to respect the conversation,’ says UEM Sunrise’s finance chief Hafiz Sulaiman
Occupying the CFO chair is a significant challenge in itself. But what happens when your company calls on you to also fill in for the CEO when they unexpectedly resign? This is exactly the situation that Hafiz Sulaiman, CFO at Malaysian property developer UEM Sunrise, found himself in. Just a few days after speaking eloquently at an event in Singapore about the power of IR to make a lasting impact on companies, he was unveiled as the officer in charge (OIC) at the company after the departure of former CEO Sufian Abdullah.
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‘It’s an opportunity to bridge two fast-growing markets’: Lessons from Emsteel Group on engaging Middle Eastern investors
As IROs look beyond traditional financial hubs to diversify their shareholder base, the Middle East represents a new and strategic capital venture. But with sovereign wealth funds, family offices and institutional investors playing an increasingly influential role in international markets, many companies still find the road to meaningful engagement in this region unclear.
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AI bubble or a soft landing? Looking at the data behind technology company valuations
The sheer numbers are overwhelming. Analysts estimate that 15 to 25 percent of the S&P 500’s value can be attributed to expectations of AI delivering substantial financial benefits for companies, which translates into 800 to 1,300 index points.
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How advanced data and analytical tools are elevating IROs to be strategic leaders
The IR role is entering a new era, one defined by data, speed and strategic influence. In a world where financial markets are driven by real-time insights and rapidly shifting narratives, IR professionals are no longer just corporate messengers. They are increasingly expected to be analytical thinkers, competitive strategists and trusted advisors to the C-suite and board.
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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