IR Leader
September 20, 2016

CIRI Issues Advocacy Update

On Friday, September 9, CIRI published an IR Issues Backgrounder: Investor Relations and Sustainability.

Many investor relations professionals say that investors and analysts seldom ask questions about environmental, social or governance (ESG) issues, but mounting evidence indicates the landscape is changing. Investors increasingly factor in the ESG performance when making investment decisions, but the information is collected from public documents and third parties, rather than directly from issuers.

Investor relations officers have an opportunity to enhance perceptions of their companies by providing an integrated picture of their companies and explaining how ESG issues factor into strategy and performance. IROs who do not consider ESG issues in their regular communication with investors could be placing their companies at a disadvantage.

Click here to view the Issues Backgrounder: Investor Relations and Sustainability. (Note: you will need to be logged in to view this 'Members Only' publication).
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Help Grow Your Community of IROs and Save!

Do you know an IRO who would benefit from networking with industry peers from across Canada? If you do, you can save $100!

If you are already telling people about CIRI and the many great benefits of membership, why not reap the rewards from a referral. CIRI members who refer a new member will receive a $100 credit towards their 2017 membership renewal or 2017 Annual Conference registration. Simply direct your referral to CIRI.org to apply online, have them enter your name as the referral and, once their membership is processed, you will receive a $100 credit.

To learn more, visit CIRI’s Refer a Friend Program.  

Be informed, Be connected, Be current. Be a CIRI Member. 

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IR Job Notifications

CIRI is pleased to inform you that new job opportunities are available in British Columbia and Ontario.

CIRI members can click here to view the posting. You must be logged in as this is a 'Members Only' benefit.

Are you looking to create or fill a position in your company or for a client? Here's an effective way to reach CIRI members who are looking for new challenges in investor relations.

Members may submit a job posting free of charge. Non-members may submit a job posting for $150+HST.

Click here to submit a job posting.
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Top Stories

BlackRock: Investors Need to Heed Climate Change

The message from BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, is clear - investors cannot ignore the impact of climate change and should incorporate it into their investment process. Climate change has the potential to affect every area of life, including local and international laws, technological advancements and capital expenditures.
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The Unintended Consequences of Say On Pay

This post from the Columbia Law School CLS Blue Sky blog, "Should Say-on-Pay Votes Be Binding?," by two executives from the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations in Canada, in exploring the issue raised in the post's title, looks at the question of the effectiveness and impact of non-binding say-on-pay votes. Initially conceived as a way to allow investors to express their views on executive compensation and, presumably, rein in runaway executive pay packages, say on pay has not exactly had the consequences that had originally been anticipated.
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New TSX Dividend Reinvestment Plan Rules Adopted

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has adopted amendments to the TSX Company Manual (the Manual) intended to provide a complete set of standards and practices (the DRIP Rules) for dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs). The amendments follow the TSX’s publication for comment of the proposed DRIP Rules earlier this year and represent a departure from the current process whereby DRIPs that provide for the issuance of securities from treasury are treated as additional listings of securities under the Manual.
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IR Issues Backgrounder: Investor Relations and Sustainability

This is a 'Members Only' publication. You must log in with your CIRI username and password. Many investor relations professionals say that investors and analysts seldom ask questions about environmental, social or governance (ESG) issues, but mounting evidence indicates the landscape is changing. Investors increasingly factor in the ESG performance when making investment decisions, but the information is collected from public documents and third parties, rather than directly from issuers.
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Diversity Disclosure Practices 2016: Women in Leadership Roles at TSX-Listed Companies

In December 2014, Canadian issuers in participating provinces, with the exception of TSX Venture Exchange issuers and investment funds, became subject to new disclosure requirements with respect to the representation of women on boards and in senior management positions. Last year, we completed a comprehensive report on diversity disclosure practices, which reviewed disclosure relating to women in leadership roles by all TSX-listed companies, other than closed-end and exchange-traded funds, that made disclosure prior to July 31, 2015. The overall picture was disappointing.
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Activists Increase Their Focus on Smaller Issuers

Shareholder activism is often associated with campaigns involving large, high-profile issuers. Yet as the Financial Times reports in a recent article, referencing global data from Activist Insight, there has been a slight upswing this year in activism against relatively small issuers.
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IR and the Sell Side: A Primer

The sell side remains a key IR stakeholder - here's what makes it tick.
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Five Traits To Look For When Hiring A Communications Professional

Managing a company's internal and external reputation is one of the most important jobs in any business. Whether you're a CEO or a communications director like me, you know that interactions with external parties can be critical for your company to grow and gain recognition.
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National Instrument 43-101: Part 5 - What Issuers Need To Know About Disclosure On Exploration Targets

Disclosure of future exploration targets is an area of difficulty for issuers. Whether out of a desire to increase share price or simply to provide the market with current and complete disclosure, issuers often want to disclose the exploration potential of mineralization of a property when there has been insufficient exploration to prepare a mineral resource estimate. To avoid issuers misleading the market, National Instrument 43-101 prohibits an issuer from disclosing the quantity, grade, or metal or mineral content of a deposit that has not been categorized as a mineral resource or mineral reserve.
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Canadian Securities Laws, Issuer Websites and Social Media: Do The Evolution

A lot has changed since the '90s and change has, for the most part, been a good thing, although I still have a nostalgic yearning to wear plaid flannel and Doc Martens again. Despite the astonishing technological developments over the past 25 years, one thing that hasn't kept pace has been the Canadian Securities Administrators' (CSA) approach to the permitted methods for the initial dissemination of material information by public companies.
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