Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. The largest professional investor relations association in the world, NIRI’s more than 3,500 members represent 2,000 publicly held companies and $5.4 trillion in stock market capitalization.

Remember Me
Forgot Password

[ close menu ]

This text is needed here for break to work!

Goodbye 2011

Just as the SEC prepares to close the books on 2011, so does NIRI. The Commission last week released new mine safety disclosure requirements and amended its rules defining an “accredited investor” near the end of a busy year. Both rules were required by Dodd-Frank, legislation that seems to have driven much of the SEC’s 2011 agenda, along with enforcement. The impact of SEC rulemaking on Investor Relations was minimal this year, and on one hand that is welcome news. On the other hand, fulfilling Dodd-Frank requirements has so consumed the agency that it has had little time to concentrate on areas that companies believe should be reviewed.

The SEC has given indications that 2012 will be more balanced. Yes, it must still fulfill Dodd-Frank mandates, some which will affect the IR community. But I am optimistic that it will (as it has suggested) turn to proxy advisors, 13D reporting and other areas in need of reform.

I believe we are all happy to turn our backs on last year’s market volatility. However, I think the majority of IR professionals see more of the same in the coming year. The European financial crisis and U.S. political climate will likely drive the same type of unsettled market environment for at least part of 2012.

At NIRI, we close 2011 with optimism about our profession. We saw IR professionals more involved with corporate governance, corporate strategy and with competitive analysis among other areas. All of these efforts increased the breadth of value investor relations provides for publicly traded companies.

As an organization, the NIRI Board closed out an 18 month strategic organizational review process that included feedback from about 15 to 20 percent of members – a process resulting in our new OneNIRI strategic vision. I am excited that NIRI will continue to evolve just as the profession evolves, and we look forward to growing with you.

I look forward to presenting at the NIRI Fundamentals of Investor Relations seminar, January 8-11 in Santa Monica, CA. If you have not attended this foundational event, please consider joining your peers. While you’re in Santa Monica, be sure to join two of our popular skills development programs, Writing Workshop for Investor Relations on January 12 and Creating Powerful Investor Presentations on January 13.

As you close out 2011, I wish you all happiness, joy, health and prosperity in the New Year.

Until next week,

Jeff Morgan, FASAE, CAE
President & CEO
jmorgan@niri.org
www.twitter.com/jeffreydmorgan

This Post does not have any comments.

From:
Email:
To:
Email:
Subject:
Message:

National Investor Relations Institute

Goodbye 2011