New York (HedgeCo.net) – According to an annual survey conducted by BNY Mellon, Global Trends in Investor Relations, publicly traded companies are managing their IR practices – from guidance and disclosure policies to sell-side approaches and growing interest in social media tools.

“We’re seeing companies truly act more globally to raise their IR profile, from the time spent with hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds to the burgeoning use of secondary listings that target regional high growth markets,” said Michael Cole-Fontayn, chief executive officer of BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts business. “IR officers are making a commitment to give fair and equal access to all investors, no matter who or where they are, to make sure they have the best information about their company.”

Key findings of the survey include:

• Only 9% of companies use social media to communicate with investors, but 35% are looking for more information on its potential uses. Of those that do use social media, Twitter is the preferred medium, followed by corporate blogs

• Nearly a quarter (22%) of companies are considering a secondary listing in an emerging market, outside their home market. Among these firms, the large majority (70%) identified a listing in China or Hong Kong of strategic interest

• Social responsibility reporting is most common in Western Europe (77% of companies issue SRI/CSR reports) andLatin America (72%), in contrast to firms in Asia-Pacific (36%) and North America (29%)

• Over the next three years, North America (77%) and Europe (70%) will continue to be the major regions of focus for growth of investor opportunities, followed by Asia (48%).

“With the continued globalization of the equity markets, it is of growing strategic importance for companies to benchmark their investor relations activities against their global peers,” said Guy Gresham, New York head of the Global IR Advisory team in BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts group. “Our investor relations specialists work with clients to apply appropriate survey findings to support their efforts in targeting new pools of investment.”

The survey was conducted during July and August 2010 and features input from nearly 400 companies across 47 countries. Respondents run the gamut of market cap, region and industry, including financials, technology, industrials, consumer staples and energy.

Editing by Alex Akesson
For HedgeCo.net
alex@hedgeco.net
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