Management and Boards of Canadian Issuers Seek Strategic Advice from Investor Relations Professionals

TORONTO, July 13, 2012 /CNW/ - In an increasingly complex environment, the executive management teams and boards of Canadian public companies are turning to investor relations professionals for strategic advice. According to a new survey released by the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI), more than half of respondents are engaged with the board while 79% have provided strategic counsel to management over the past year. With this expanded responsibility comes enhanced compensation with almost one-in-four investor relations professional earning at least $225,000 in total cash compensation, including 15% who collected $300,000 or more.

"We continue to hear that more of our members are involved in strategic discussions with their executive teams and boards," said Tom Enright, President and CEO of CIRI. "This survey validates that investor relations professionals are valuable participants in strategic discussions as they can provide the investment community perspectives on various corporate initiatives that affect valuation."

Key survey findings:

• Evolution and elevation of the IR profession
• 85% of IROs report to the C-suite, up from 82% in 2010
• 75% of corporate IR professionals work in separate, specialized IR departments, up from 72% in 2010
• Average IR budgets are $920,000 (excluding allocated overhead, but including compensation), up from $902,900 in 2010.
• IROs increase strategic influence by providing information and insights
• 79% of IROs have provided strategic counsel to management over the past 12 months, up from 77% in 2010
• 57% of the IR functions present to the Board, up from 50% in 2010
• 70% of IR departments are responsible for research such as gathering market intelligence
• IR role becoming more global
• 33% of respondent companies are inter-listed in the U.S.
• 17% of respondent companies have a non-North American listing, 48% of which are from the mining and minerals sector
• IR compensation is multi-faceted and complex
• Among those who spent 50% or more of their time on IR, total cash compensation averaged $180,500, implying a 4.5% compounded annual increase since 2010
• Almost one-in-four investor relations professionals earned at least $225,000 in total cash compensation, including 15% who collected $300,000 or more

For full survey results, go to: http://www.ciri.org/NewsPublications/Guides.aspx.

About the Survey

The Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) conducted the seventh Investor Relations Compensation and Responsibilities Survey during the first quarter of 2012. Two hundred and thirty-six investor relations professionals took part, including 51% of qualified CIRI corporate members.

The research objectives were to:

• track trends and changes in the roles, responsibilities, resourcing and compensation of the IR profession in Canada; and
• provide compensation and budget information for benchmarking.

New to the survey this year, are interviews with IROs from diverse sectors, market caps, geography, years of IR experience and educational background. These were conducted to identify current trends within the profession as well expectations on how the role will evolve in the future.

The survey was conducted by Carolyn Vose & Associates, an organization that specializes in market research for organizations operating in global capital markets.

About CIRI

CIRI is a professional, not-for-profit association of executives responsible for communication between public corporations, investors and the financial community. CIRI contributes to the transparency and integrity of the Canadian capital market by advancing

the practice of investor relations, the professional competency of its members and the stature of the profession. With more than 600 members and four chapters across the country, CIRI is the voice of IR in Canada. For further information, please visit www.ciri.org.

Yvette Lokker
Vice President, Communications & Professional Development
[phone]
[email protected]