IR Leader
June 21, 2016

Invest In You; Be CIRI Certified!

Recognizing the need for formal education in the field of investor relations, CIRI and the Ivey Business School (Ivey) have developed a program that covers all relevant areas of this multidisciplinary role including capital markets, corporate governance, securities law, finance and communications.

This program is intended for experienced investor relations professionals, individuals working closely with investor relations professionals, and individuals who have corporate experience in a related field and are interested in gaining a solid understanding of the investor relations role.

For more information about Certification, contact Yvette Lokker or visit the Certification section on CIRI.org. 


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The Value of CIRI Membership

CIRI members benefit from a number of valuable resources as well as cost savings.  Click here to find out more about the Benefits and Cost Savings of CIRI membership.

  • High quality professional development - at special member rates
  • Timely, relevant publications (IR leader, IR focus, Issues Backgrounders and Issues Briefs, CIRI's Guide to Developing an IR Program, CIRI's Standards and Guidance for Disclosure and Model Disclosure Policy)
  • CIRI website - Members Only section
  • A voice representing the Investor Relations profession
Join today and save!
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Top Stories

Canadian Securities Regulators Publish List of Unprotected Marketplaces

Today, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published CSA Staff Notice 23-316 Order Protection Rule: Implementation of the Market Share Threshold and Amendments to Companion Policy 23-101 Trading Rules (CSA Staff Notice 23-316), which lists marketplaces that will be considered unprotected for the purposes of the order protection rule (OPR) in National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules (NI 23-101).

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TSX Proposes Rules Requiring New Website Disclosure and Amendments to Equity Based Compensation Plans

The Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") has proposed amendments to the TSX Company Manual that will (i) require listed issuers to post certain corporate governance type documents on their websites (the "Website Disclosure Amendment"), and (ii) amend the disclosure requirements for security based compensation arrangements (the "Security Based Compensation Amendment").

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Are Declining Buybacks a Bad Sign for the Equity Market?

The U.S. stock market began a bull market run in the first quarter of 2009 that propelled the Standard and Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) higher by nearly 200% by 2016. The seven-year rally in stocks following the financial crisis of 2008 is one of the longest U.S. equities rallies in history.

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Are Mandatory Gender Diversity Targets Coming for Public Companies in Ontario?

On June 7, 2016, the Ontario government announced that it has accepted all 11 recommendations set forth in Catalyst Canada's report, Gender Diversity on Boards in Canada: Recommendations for Accelerating Progress (Report). Catalyst Canada is a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate progress for women through workplace inclusion. The Report was commissioned by the Government of Ontario and is intended to advance gender balance on boards through providing recommendations to companies and business leaders as well as the Ontario government.

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Ontario Encourages Gender Diversity Targets for Boards

The Ontario Government has announced a target that women comprise at least 40 percent of appointments to provincial boards and agencies by 2019 and is encouraging businesses to set gender diversity targets for their boards of directors.

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IIROC Publishes Three-Year Plan and Details Immediate Priorities for 2016-17

On May 26, 2016, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) published IIROC Notice 16-0109 IIROC's Three-Year Strategic Plan and IIROC Notice 16-0110 IIROC 2017 Priorities, which respectively set out the organization's three-year strategic plan and its immediate priorities for 2016-17.

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Why Passive Investing Increases Corporate Activism

If there's a rap on passive, index-style investing it is this: Despite being big shareholders, mutual fund firms that use this autopilot approach to investing have no incentive to prod companies to do better.

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Activists Boost Innovation As Well As Share Prices

It looks as if hedge fund activists engineer not just a short-term pop in target firms' stock prices but also long-term improvements in innovation.

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Online Shareholders' Meetings Lower Costs, but Also Interaction

Virtual meetings are a growing phenomenon, but although technologically feasible, they are a bad idea.

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KPMG: Corporate Reporting Too Short-Term Focused

Companies focus their performance reporting, strategic discussion and risk assessments on short-term financial objectives, resulting in significant gaps in the information reported to investors, a KPMG report has found.

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Boosting Valuation with Enterprise Risk Management

Mature ERM programs help organizations understand their own structures and processes, and how they impact strategic goals.

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