Investor Relations

46INVESTOR RELATIONSfinancial image. To this end, local regulations permitting, they often setup a myriad of services for this category of shareholders: free custodyaccounts, transactions services for company shares, organization ofannual general meetings, and specific communications (shareholder letters,information meetings, fieldtrips, etc.). In these circumstances, andif it is the company’s strategy to promote individual share ownership, itmay make sense to appoint someone to handle these tasks specifically. Debt IR. In companies that issues equity and debt, it can be an issueto try and efficiently deal with equity investors and analysts withoutunderstanding the debt story. Thus, it is not uncommon that all membersof the Investor Relations team are exclusively focusing on theneeds of fixed-income investors. This involves working closely with thecorporate treasury department and credit-rating agencies and conductingregular debt investor roadshows.A company that has a dedicated debt Investor Relations function will provideinformation about all its financial instruments in its financial statementsand on its Web site under a specific tab, and notably including the following:Effect of financial statement on the company’s financials;Treasury accounting policies; Outstanding capital market issuance by currency, amount, interestcoupon, and maturity date. Investor Relations support and logistics. This is another key job,the performance of which will directly impact the image of InvestorRelations. And in Investor Relations, as anywhere else, “The devil is inthe detail.” Except in small and medium-sized companies where supportcan be part of services shared or mutualized with other departments, itmakes the IRO’s life simpler to be able to rely on its own organization.The main responsibilities include the following: Administration of the IR department, and notably the managementof Investor Relations planning and calendars; Contact databases maintenance, meetings, share-ownership identificationexercises; Logistical support for Investor Relations. This is the backbone ofthe whole Investor Relations organization, covering the organization ofevents ranging from earnings presentation meetings, roadshows, andfieldtrips to investor days and conference calls.