June is high season for international IR-conferences in Europe as well in the US. Again this year DIRF visited our fellow IR organizations, NIRI, in Las Vegas from 10-13 June and IR Society on 19 June. In the following you can gain some quick insights into the hottest topics in the IR world here and now.
NIRI 2018 in brief
More than 1,100 people attended the June 10-13 conference at the Wynn Las Vegas. The #NIRI18 event featured 140 speakers and panelists, 45 educational sessions, and more than 50 exhibitors and sponsors. This year’s conference – DISCOVER – offered an long line-up of speakers and panels who shared their talents and insights on topics ranging from “The ABCs of ESG” to “MiFID II” to “The Right Approach to Investor Targeting” and everything in between. And in the usual ‘American way” participants engaged in a variety of experiences, including live media training, the Headshot Lounge, and the Career Development Hub. In addition to the official programme, there were many evening receptions and various network activities including a golf tournament and yoga among the activities offered. But as usual the conference also centred around career opportunities, regulation/political lobbyism along with diversity and governance issues which for instance was illustrated by two of the keynotes being interviews with Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman and NYSE Group President Stacey Cunningham. It was the first time that both major U.S. exchanges have been headed by women, and it was the first NIRI conference to feature both exchange leaders.
NIRI’s annual IR-conference is the biggest event of its kind in the world, and even if its content naturally is addressed to its own members and much of it is not directly applicable to e.g. Europe, it continues also to attract an international audience and to give some interesting insights into global trends.
IR Society’s 2018 Annual Conference – IR: Future-proofing business
With an attendance of over 370 delegates, keynote speakers included Douglas Flint, former group chairman, HSBC, and Sir Michael Rake, Lead Independent Director of Worldpay Inc, as well as other speakers from the investment community. Throughout the day, the conference focused on how Investor Relations can help future-proof businesses and considered how best practice IR can influence a company’s strategic thinking. Supported by views from the C-suite, the boardroom and IROs, as well as the buy- and sell-sides, the conference addressed the important trends in Investor Relations including the growth of ESG and market disruption due to the impact of changes in regulation (MiFID II), market structure and technology.
The key take-aways from both conferences of interest to DIRF members is the reaffirmation of identical main topics and trends affecting investor relations going forward. Also, there now exists a broad consensus that the EU regulation, MiFID II is already having global implications on the financial industry whether you are in the EU or not. Regarding focus on governance and ESG matters, this has only just started, and both in the US and the UK they are looking to the Netherlands AND the Nordics to see how it is done.
How to navigate in new waters – DIRFdagen 2018 on 28 September 2018 at Plesner
When planning the DIRF conference programme and finding the best and most topical speakers and topics, we always seek inspiration and input from our fellow IR organisations abroad with whom we have a close cooperation to ensure top-of-class inspiration and learnings on an international level to those attending. Against this backdrop we can highly recommend you to save the date and quickly book a seat at DIRFdagen 2018 at https://dirf.dk/events/dirfdagen-2018-save-the-date/
We look forward to welcoming you on 28 September 2018!
DIRF Supervisory Board