Investor Relations for the Emerging Company (Wiley Finance) - Hardcover

Rieves, Ralph A.; Lefebvre, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471064173 ISBN 13: 9780471064176

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2002

Synopsis

The definitive guide for CEOs, CFOs, and executives of newly public companies
Learning to deal with investors, employees, media, regulators, and others once a company has gone public requires dedication and consistency. Investor Relations for the Emerging Company helps fledgling public company officers and directors prepare for the unique business task of convincing investors of their company′s value. From describing the various organizations, institutions, mechanics and behaviors of capital markets to clarifying the requirements and best practices for reporting and disclosure, this book provides all the answers. CEOs, CFOs, and executives who must operate an effective investor relations program within the budget constraints of their newly listed company will use this book for years to come.

About this title

About the Author

RALPH A. RIEVES is a Senior Analyst with the Emerging Companies Research Institute (ECRI), a division of Farragut, Jones & Lawrence. ECRI advises recently listed companies about current research in the areas of financial reporting, compliance, capital markets, and institutional investors′ portfolio strategies. He was managing editor of the Journal of Investment Consulting and was previously the executive editor for capital markets publishing for Dow Jones–Irwin books and Irwin Professional books. Mr. Rieves is a recipient of the book industry′s Bowker LMP Award for distinguished achievement.
JOHN LEFEBVRE is the President of the consulting firm, Shareholder Relations. He is an acknowledged authority on employing direct marketing strategies in investor relations programs. Lefebvre was an account executive with Merrill Lynch, and has been an officer of several emerging corporations. In 1999, he advised on the recapitalization of a telecommuncations software firm that significantly enhanced the liquidity of that company′s common stock.

From the Back Cover

Investor Relations for the Emerging Company

"This book is sure to be an eye–opener for many emerging company executives and directors. As an institutional investor, I am happy to recommend it. The authors highlight the realities of today′s capital markets, and illustrate what you should do in order to gain institutional investor recognition. Teaching company owners how to sell their story makes our job of finding undiscovered gems that much easier ."
–Douglas K. Harman, CPA, CFA
Harman Investment Advisors

"This work is a forthright primer on investor relations and the rigors of the public capital markets. It is a must read for those who want to avoid pitfalls when encountering lazy analysts and reporters, overzealous regulators, and the hot money crowd."
–Kenneth L. Lucas, Chief Financial Officer
Univance Telecommunications, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Investor Relations for the Emerging Company

Going public is the biggest step an emerging company can take in its search for capital, and although your company may be ready to go public, will you–as a director or officer–be ready to face the unique challenges of investor relations that will appear, literally, overnight?

Investor relations is an essential facet of any publicly traded company, inevitably affecting its stock price. With the changes in the current economic environment, emerging companies require an authoritative, well–researched, and honest guide to building and maintaining a large shareholder base. Investor Relations for the Emerging Company provides enduring advice, insight, and procedures that will help you communicate, legally and ethically, your commitment to enhancing shareholder value.

Divided into three complementary parts–The Investor Universe, Compliance and Disclosure, and Corporate Practices–this comprehensive book guides you through the process of business life after the initial public offering. You′ll gain a firm understanding of the organizations, institutions, mechanics, and behavior of capital markets from the authors′ discussions about portfolio managers, institutional investors, and regulations. SEC Regulation FD is discussed in several chapters.

Investor Relations for the Emerging Company also serves as a procedural guide to the what, how, and when of reporting and disclosure, by focusing on how best to implement compliance. Rounding out this extensively researched and practical guide to investor relations is a detailed description of how to operate an effective investor relations program within your company′s budgetary constraints–from setting up an investor relations department to best practices for news releases, conference calls, and presentations.

The transition from a private to a public company has its challenges, but if your company can effectively communicate its commitment to enhancing shareholder value, you will enjoy the competitive advantage of sustained growth. Let Investor Relations for the Emerging Company show you how to operate effectively and profitably within this new environment, and make your transition into the public eye a smooth one.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Investor Relations for the Emerging Company

By Ralph A. Rieves John Lefebvre

John Wiley & Sons

ISBN: 0-471-06417-3

Chapter One

Introduction

Going public is a defining moment. Things are radically different thereafter, because the thrust of the firm's activities becomes focused on increasing its net worth. Not just on meeting the payroll or paying the bills. Not on what can be passed on to the next generation and certainly not on being one's own boss. Now your company confronts the growth challenge.

A major aspect of this growth challenge is a compounded degree of competition. A privately owned company's strategy is, in most respects, dictated by its competition. A publicly held company's strategy is dictated by competitors as well as by all firms competing for capital. Those other firms are everywhere in the world.

Your company has always competed for customers. Now your company must also compete for capital. When competing for customers your company contended within a range of other companies, seldom more than a dozen. When competing for capital, you are up against 16,000 other public companies. There are few ways of differentiating your company from these others.

The price of your company's stock determines your ability to raise capital. It is indisputable that the new global capital markets will allocate scarce capital among only those companies perceived as being focused on increasing shareholder value. It follows that those companies who effectively communicate that focus will enjoy a competitive advantage in sustaining their growth.

More importantly, your new publicly owned company now confronts another set of regulators, more business reporters, and more scrutiny from the public at large. Your business is conducted in an environment more complex than the one in which you did business as a private company. The complexity of this new environment is compounded by constant advances in communications technology.

This book is intended as one of your guides to operating in your new environment. The authors, and those who assisted them, have worked to keep this book concise. We have focused on prescription. Descriptions, explanations, and anecdotes are included so that you can put our suggested policies and practices into a business perspective.

Prior to, and during, the initial public offering (IPO) process, no time was available for addressing what would follow. It was difficult enough to sustain just the daily routines of business while undergoing all the preparation necessary to bring your company public. Your investment bankers may have offered some counsel and advice, but their main responsibility was to take the company public. Accountants and lawyers were appropriately focused on the minutiae of compliance. What a difference on the morning after the IPO. Now the focus is on the parties who bought shares and those who might buy shares.

What "distinguishes" this book from others on investor relations is our targeted audience: the managers and directors of emerging growth companies like yours. We tried to keep in mind the problems, opportunities, and unexpected events unique to a new public company. Every suggestion has roots in real-life experience or in the empirical research of highly qualified academics.

The next two chapters are descriptive and are included for background knowledge. If you are familiar with all the players in the global capital markets, you may choose to skip these chapters.

As you read this book, keep in mind that investor relations activities are vital to growing your company. They require daily monitoring and management. Otherwise, you could find your company in legal and/or financial trouble. The authors of this book have tried to provide you with the operations manual with which to avoid that trouble.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Investor Relations for the Emerging Companyby Ralph A. Rieves John Lefebvre Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471064173
• ISBN 13: 9780471064176
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208