Good investor relations help shape and maintain the image of a company among all the participants in financial market. This means that a successful investor relations strategy can have a positive effect on perception of the company, share price performance, the company’s rating, and capital market activities. But the IR sector is generally much less in the “limelight” than advertising or PR agencies, for example. Seeing outstanding IR campaigns getting the recognition they deserve at international award ceremonies is therefore most welcome.
First-class IR campaigns deserve recognition
There are several organisations that offer investor relations awards, which are aimed at recognising agencies and companies for outstanding achievements in communications with investors and shareholders. Some of the most well-known investor relations awards where participants are selected by the organisation are:
– The German Investor Relations Prize:
Institutional Investor, WirtschaftsWoche and the DIRK (German Investor Relations Association) have been awarding the German Investor Relations Prize in six categories every year since 2000. The award is based on the results of an independent survey in which over 20 performance criteria are compared and evaluated to determine the best IR expert and the best IR program.
– CIRI “Award for Excellence” und “Belle Mulligan Award for Leadership”:
The Canadian Investor Relations Institute CIRI presents two awards each year. The Award for Excellence in Investor Relations is used by CIRI to honour individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of investor relations and to the Institute. The Belle Mulligan Award for Leadership in Investor Relations honours individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in one or more aspects of IR practice.
Self-Entry-Awards: an opportunity for ambitious newcomers
As the awards listed above are mainly granted to well-known large and mid-cap companies, there is also an opportunity for young, ambitious IR agencies to nominate themselves or their client campaigns. The better-known Self-Entry Awards include:
– German Stevie Awards:
Launched in 2014, the German Stevie Award is a high-caliber business award for companies from German-speaking Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Belgium). It honors outstanding achievements in over 200 different categories – including Marketing Campaign of the Year, Product of the Year and top achievements in Customer Service, Public Relations, Human Resources and Investor Relations.
– Investor Relations Magazine Awards:
The renowned Investor Relations Magazine presents the IR Magazine Awards in various regions every year. The awards recognise companies for their excellence in investor relations. There are two types of award categories: researched and nominated. Companies do not submit nominations for the researched categories. Instead, hundreds of analysts and investors cast their votes and assess which companies offer the best IR service. In the nominated categories, companies submit written entries outlining their successes and achievements of the past year, so that every listed company has the opportunity to be considered for an award.
– IR Society Best Practice Awards:
The Investor Relations Society in the UK presents the Best Practice Awards to recognise best practice in the industry. The awards cover various categories, including annual reporting, online communication and corporate governance.
And the winner is: Dr Reuter Investor Relations for Frequentis
Frequentis won the “Best Innovation Award in Investor Relations – Small Cap” at the IR Society’s most recent awards ceremony in London in November 2023. The company was also nominated as a finalist in the “Best Investor Relations Programme – Small Cap” category. The IR Society judges praised Dr Reuter Investor Relations’ unique approach to reaching new target groups. These included tools such as video interviews, webinars, editorial contributions and perception studies. The IR Society also recognised the intellectual content and quality of the submission and saw it as a novel approach to changing investor segments with many creative elements.