Synopses & Reviews
With the fast pace of communications and change in today's global marketplace, investing in equities has become increasingly complex. Communicating a clear, concise, meaningful message to investors is critical. Dr. Higgins and his contributing authors provide a broad set of perspectives, lessons learned, and best practices in global investor relations. They examine the fundamentals of investor relations from a theoretical and practical perspective. They explore individual company strategies and challenges for investor relations in unique and meaningful situations—all from their own vantages and experiences at six topflight corporations with world-class investor relations organizations: AT&T, Schering-Plough, BASF, Reuters, Sony, and Toyota. Readers will get detailed pragmatic insights into the way IR is done in these important, highly visible corporations, plus the results of a unique five-year study of global strategy communications, complete with ideas and concepts they can use immediately in developing and influencing investor relations in their own organizations.
But Higgins' book is more than a collection of company studies. Impinging upon the strategic and financial communications of virtually every global corporation are institutional, market, and technological forces that are shaping the current practice of investor relations. The book examines these forces and their impact on strategic financial communications. It also explores the theoretical and empirical foundations underlying the practice of investor relations and presents a conceptual model—a strategic perspective—for viewing and analyzing best practices. In addition, the book presents the results of a recent survey of global investor relations practices in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Japan, plus two new studies of the latest communication technologies in U.S. companies.
Review
Provides vital insight, through the use of case studies, into the means and methods for strategically communicating a company's goals and strategy to the investment community. Through globalization, we are finding in the investor relations practice many common threads across national boundaries, particularly with respect to strategic positioning of corporations....It's a must read.Louis M. Thompson, Jr. President and CEO National Investor Relations Institute
Review
Dick Higgins goes right after the questions that are always on an IR officer's mind. By using a series of examples, he manages to weave a very practical but also a very interesting and readable guide to what makes an IR function great.... There's something for everyone in this book. I believe even seasoned IR officers will find food for thought and several practical tips that they will want to use in their own programs. I know I did.Margaret Moore Senior Vice President and Treasurer The Pepsi Bottling Group
Synopsis
World-class organizations, those with the most effective investor relations, provide the financial community with information that is candid, open, specific, timely,and future oriented. Higgins selects the best of these companies and finds that the benefits of open disclosure include lower cost of capital, improved liquidity, a larger and better informed analyst following, and more "patient" investors. His contributing authors, all in high places at topflight organizations, provide state-of-the-art approaches to strategic financial communication and give first hand-poofs that open disclosure truly works.
Synopsis
Provides a broad set of perspectives, lessons, and the best practices that prove communicating a clear, concise, meaningful message to the investment community is critical.
About the Author
RICHARD B. HIGGINS is Founder and Managing Director of Stratcom Associates, Grantham, New Hampshire, a management consulting firm specializing in strategic and financial communications.