Past events

Join the IR Magazine Forum – Europe on June 10, online, to take part in discussions and hear from expert speakers on the biggest issues and trends in 2021. By June there will be some clarity on the prospects for in-person meetings, but progress across Europe may be fragmented. To help IROs stay agile at this pivotal moment, we will delve into the following agenda topics.

Find more information on the agenda, speakers and how to book, on the website. 

IR club Schweiz members benefit from a £150 discount on tickets. Please write to us if you are interested and we will give you the discount code for the registration.

If you have any questions, email Chloe.Rutter.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.irmagazine.com or call the IR Magazine team on +44 20 8004 5340.

The Annual General Meeting 2021 was held virtually.

Even though we all miss personal interactions, 2020 was a very successful year for the IR club Schweiz. We were able to more than double our event offerings across a variety of interesting topics on ESG, Virtual AGMs and Investor Engagement to name a few. Compared to previous years, more members attended the events than ever. We are also delighted to be able to welcome ten new members in our association since the beginning of 2020.

After the AGM part, Sebastian Vismara from our new Gold Partner BNY Mellon spoke about opportunities and risks in the US Covid recovery cycle.

As Covid-19 continues to impact economies across the globe, in the US the Biden Administration faces numerous challenges as they implement new policies and legislate to stimulate growth and recovery. Thank you for joining and discussing these geopolitical and economic trends and their impact on global companies.

Sebastian provided an overview of the Biden stimulus plan in the context of broader issues affecting US spending and inflation over the next few years. Additionally, he addressed the expectations for financial markets including an outlook for Federal Reserve policy and action, and different scenarios for the US economy. Our discussion included thoughts on investment implications, including the expected relative performance of value vs growth stocks, small vs large caps, and equities vs corporate credit.

Registration was open to IR club Schweiz members only. The main contact person per member company has received a personalised link to the voting in the invitation email. Many thanks to our new Gold Partner Devigus who provided us with their professional voting platform.

Agenda:

Speaker:

Sebastian Vismara is a Macro-Financial Economist in the Global Economics and Investment Analysis team at BNY Mellon Investment Management. His responsibilities include conducting analysis on the global economy, financial markets and investment strategy. Prior to this role, Sebastian spent 5 years at the Bank of England working on global macroeconomic analysis and financial market research. In his last role he provided macro financial research support for Governor Carney’s international engagements. A native of Italy, Sebastian studied Finance, Economics and International Relations, with a MSc from the London School of Economics and a BSc from the University of Florence in Italy.

supported by BNY Mellon

Die Teilnahme an der DIRK-Mitgliederversammlung stand nebst DIRK-Mitgliedern exklusiv auch Mitgliedern des IR club Schweiz offen.

Themen, die unter anderem besprochen wurden:

• Was bedeuten die Änderungen der DAX Index-Methodologie?
• Welche Vergütungssysteme stellen andere Unternehmen zur Abstimmung nach ARUG II?
• Wie gestaltet sich das ESEF- und XBRL-Reporting in der Praxis?
• Was macht einen virtuellen Capital Markets Day erfolgreich?
• Und welche Lehren kann man aus der letzten HV-Saison für dieses Jahr ziehen?

Morrow Sodali and SWIPRA Services were pleased to invite you to the webinar on Morrow Sodali’s most current Institutional Investor Survey. The survey was conducted for the sixth time and covers the bulk of the global asset management field with most large and influential investors participating across a wide spread of geographies.

On top of identifying important issues and investor views on the upcoming AGM season such as executive remuneration, board engagement and accountability, corporate reporting and the role of activism, this year’s survey addressed the growing importance of ESG and sustainability in investment decisions, and the risks and opportunities that come with it.

In this webinar, Morrow Sodali and SWIPRA Services discussed the key findings of the survey and the implications for the upcoming AGM season and beyond.

Flyer


The IR club Schweiz was supporting partner of this webinar.

Due to the current pandemic situation with the strong trend to avoid mass gatherings ("avoid the crowd") the following questions become more and more central:

• How to conduct general assemblies in the future?
• Which legal aspects must be considered?
• Which technical means are available?
• Are there shareholder service providers that specialize in digitization?

The company Devigus has been dealing with the topic of digitalization of shareholder services for quite some time. Due to their in-house development, the longtime experience in Shareholder Services, as well as their broad network, Devigus is able to address exactly these questions and needs in depth.

The replay of this webinar is available in our member section.

Agenda

Speakers

		Arturo Devigus is the founder and CEO of Devigus Engineering AG. He holds a master degree in mechanical engineering and industrial engineering from the ETH Zurich (Dipl. Ing. ETH) and an Executive Master of Business Engineering from the University of St. Gallen (Exec. MBA HSG).
		Tabea Bürgler is General Counsel of Bossard Group since 2015.
		Daniel Häusermann is a lawyer at Homburger AG. His practice areas include corporate and capital markets law, M&A, capital market transactions and corporate governance. He is also a private lecturer for private and commercial law at the University of St. Gallen.

powered by

Der virtuelle Workshop "Digitale IR-Trends", veranstaltet von unserem Partnerverband DIRK – Deutscher Investor Relations Verband, gibt Antworten auf die drängendsten Zukunftsfragen nach Megatrends, deren Einfluss auf die moderne Finanzkommunikation und die Herausforderungen der Digitalen Transformation.

Die Teilnehmer lernen praxisnah die für sie passenden Arbeitsfelder kennen und erhalten Tipps, wie sie in ihrem IR-Alltag effizienter und zielgerichteter vorangehen können. Aktuelle Best Practice-Beispiele und Studien liefern Orientierung und Verbesserungsvorschläge für die zukünftige digitale Ausrichtung der eigenen Finanzkommunikation. Im weiteren Verlauf analysieren digitale IR-Profis die IR-Webseiten der Teilnehmer und liefern neben strategischen Empfehlungen auch praktische Tipps und "Quick Wins" für kurzfristig umsetzbare Ergebnisse.

Mitglieder des IR club Schweiz profitieren von Sonderkonditionen und bezahlen nur 390,- € zzgl. MwSt.

Mehr Informationen und Anmeldung

Kepler Cheuvreux’s 11th IR Summit will be held virtually on 10 December in cooperation with IR club Schweiz and many IR associations. Don't miss this unique event focusing on the theme "Investor Relations: the New Normal?".

The event will feature panels of CIOs, CEOs, Heads of IR and experts sharing their views on the evolution of investor relations in the COVID world. It will also be a unique opportunity to hear the views of keynote speakers on Brexit, the U.S. election, the economic outlook and capital markets.

Register now (deadline: December 1, 2020): irsummit.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.keplercheuvreux.com

More information and agenda

Due to the current situation regarding Covid-19, the Chlaushöck unfortunately cannot be realized. We are confident that the popular meeting can take place again next year!

We are proud to partner with IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary this year for their virtual ESG Integration Forum - Europe, on December 2. The forum will uncover the underlying factors that have driven the rise of ESG during the pandemic.

ESG discussions to be centered around:

• ESG and the earnings call: Integrating long-term thinking into short-term discussions
• How artificial intelligence is evolving the ESG landscape
• Covid-19 as a catalyst for better year-round engagement on ESG
• Standardization developments in ESG ratings and frameworks
• How corporate boards can navigate climate risks
• How the future of work will impact ESG integration
• Materiality matters: Learn how companies in your sector are managing their most relevant ESG risks
• Social and human capital trends
• Generating decision useful data for investors
• Reinventing ESG reporting: A shift from what’s happened to where we’re going
• And more!

The event will feature discussions between investor relations, governance, risk and compliance experts together to explore the underlying factors that have driven the rise of ESG, deepen shareholder engagement, help companies identify and act on material risks, and better manage shareholder proposals.

Book your place now – with the early-bird rate of £150, discounted from the standard price of £250, available until November 20.

IR club Schweiz members benefit from a discount with the code IRclubch25.

In diesem Intensiv-Workshop, durchgeführt vom DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verband, vertiefen Sie Ihr Wissen im IR Bereich und steigern Ihre Kompetenz als Assistentin oder Assistent. Sie erhalten einen umfassenden Überblick über die Rahmenbedingungen und Treiber der Investor Relations und des Kapitalmarkts. Langjährige Investor Relations-Manager berichten aus der Praxis und verraten Tipps & Tricks für den Alltag. Sie treffen Kollegen aus Österreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz und bauen sich so ein Netzwerk für den kontinuierlichen Erfahrungsaustausch auf.

Mitglieder des IR club Schweiz profitieren von einer Vergünstigung von € 600 (bei der Anmeldung bitte im Kommentarfeld vermerken).

Weitere Informationen & Anmeldung

Der CIRA - CERCLE INVESTOR RELATIONS AUSTRIA lädt zur Jahreskonferenz am 14. Oktober 2020 ein – vor Ort im Novotel am Hauptbahnhof Wien, oder virtuell bei der Liveübertragung.

Dieses Jahr steht die Teilnahme nebst CIRA-Mitgliedern exklusiv auch Mitgliedern des IR club Schweiz offen.

Am 14. Oktober 2020 findet eine halbtägige Konferenz als Hybridveranstaltung im Novotel am Hauptbahnhof Wien statt. Eine fixe Sitzplatzzuteilung jedes Teilnehmenden, die Einhaltung von Sicherheitsabständen und Maskenpflicht beim Besuch der Konferenz, sind dabei Teil des Sicherheitskonzepts. Da heuer viele Gäste nicht persönlich vor Ort sein können, werden die Vorträge und Diskussionen dieses Tages auch live online übertragen. Registrierte Gäste haben zudem die Möglichkeit, sich die einzelnen Beiträge im Nachgang als Aufzeichnung anzusehen.

Jetzt anmelden

Darüber hinaus startet ab 20. Oktober 2020 die Konferenz-Serie "CIRA-TV im Herbst" – jeden Dienstag und Donnerstag um 16:00 Uhr via Zoom – mit wichtigen Themen der Kapitalmarkkommunikation.

This unique event format offered all IROs the perfect opportunity to exchange views with selected representatives from the Buyside in an exclusive setting. We were delighted to welcome seven top-class Buyside panelists from BlackRock, Capital Group, Fidelity International, Fidelity Management & Research, Norges Bank Investment Mgmt, T. Rowe Price and Wellington Management.

After a short welcome and overview of the event format we started with a moderated panel discussion. In three breakout sessions the participants met our Buyside panelists together with their peers and were able to ask their most burning questions directly. After about 20 minutes the Buyside panelists switched and moved on to the next breakout room. At the end of the breakout sessions a short wrap up followed.

The replay of the panel discussion is available in our member section.

Agenda

Our Buyside Panelists

		Valentina Barnfather is European Head of Corporate Access at Capital Group having joined in March 2019. She has over 12 years of corporate access experience gained whilst working on the sell-side at Redburn. Before that she was an equity analyst at J.P.Morgan having first qualified as an Chartered Accountant with KPMG. She holds a master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh. Valentina is based in London.
		Karen Harley is a Corporate Access Associate at Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR Co.), the investment advisor for Fidelity’s family of mutual funds. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions and financial intermediaries.
		Patricia Lefranc is Global Head of Corporate Access at Fidelity International, based in London. Patricia was previously Head of Corporate Access, EMEA, at J.P. Morgan and UBS. Patricia was also Head of Investor Relations at Orange SA. Patricia holds a European Master in BA from ESCP Europe.
		Caroline Preston is a vice president of T. Rowe Price International Ltd and is Corporate Access Manager in the Equity Division. In this role, Caroline is responsible for establishing and implementing in-house corporate access strategies in partnership with the investment professionals for EMEA and APAC. Caroline has over 18 years’ experience in Financial Services, and prior to joining T. Rowe Price she was Executive Director at J. P. Morgan Securities within the EMEA Corporate Access team. She earned a BA (Hons) in French and Politics from the University of Bristol.
		Hugo Sanders is the director of Corporate Access and Research Services. He is responsible for building out and overseeing a global corporate access and research services function for Wellington Management. This involves the coordination and management of access to corporates and experts globally in partnership with investors. It also includes on- and off-site meetings, site visits, conference calls, roadshows, investment conferences and bespoke field trips. Hugo also represents the firm to investor relations contacts when appropriate. In addition, he oversees the research services and data teams which manage the full life cycle of external research providers and market data providers including procurement, negotiation of services, due diligence, evaluation and relationship management.
		Ellie Tinto is Head of the Corporate Solutions Team for BlackRock EMEA. Corporate Solutions sits in the BlackRock Capital Markets group (BCM). Covering the full spectrum of public and private markets, BCM offers a centralized function for sourcing and syndication, financing, co-investment and corporate solutions activities. Ellie has 16 years’ experience of working in corporate access, beginning with her role as an originator at Société Générale in London. She joined Sanofi Investor Relations team in 2010 where she was tasked with driving European and US investor engagement through targeting and strategic outreach.
		Edward Young is Head of Corporate Access at Norges Bank Investment Management. He joined NBIM in July 2017 after 10 years on the sell-side across Equity Capital Markets and Advisory roles at both Barclays and RBS. Ed has a Bachelor’s Degree in Modern Languages from the University of Bristol.

IR Club Schweiz was supported by OpenExchange to deliver this meeting.

IR Magazine is holding the Global IR Forum 2020 on October 6 – October 8, bringing together investor relations officers from different sectors, markets and regions to learn how to adapt their IR program at a time when markets are rapidly evolving and shareholder bases are changing.

Regional outlook
Different governments have approached the Covid-19 crisis in contrasting ways, and the speed at which restrictions have been easing is equally different. This creates a variety of scenarios for business, regulators and investors alike. The Global IR Forum is structured to focus on the most relevant challenges facing investor relations in your region.

Sector-specific discussions
The global pandemic has accelerated digitalization, increased awareness on health practices and had a significant impact on the global economy. The nature of your industry and how it reacts to macro cycles presents unique challenges for your business and investor base. This year, the Global IR Forum features sector-focused sessions, so whether you’re managing risk or maximizing opportunity you can hear from leading heads of IR at public companies, investors and analysts.

IR club members benefit from a 50% discount on tickets. Please write to us if you are interested and we will give you the discount code for the registration.

If you have any questions, email Priscilla.Lim.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.irmagazine.com or call the IR Magazine team on +44 20 8004 5340.

On Thursday, October 1, the IR Magazine Awards – Europe took place. The internationally renowned IR Magazine Awards – Europe honored excellence in the investor relations profession. The prestigious ceremony hosted the best of the IR community from across Europe at 8 Northumberland Avenue in London.

By popular demand, the awards once again presented two types of award categories – researched and nominated – both celebrating the success of those individuals and companies that are leading the way in IR across Europe.

If you have any questions, email Priscilla.Lim.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.irmagazine.com or call the IR Magazine team on +44 20 8004 5340.

"Embracing Change: The new age of IR"

Alongside keynote addresses, the conference sessions will look at key market themes and mega trends, ESG and stewardship and how to shape your IR programme in a post-COVID world.

While this year the conference format might be a little different, we look forward to bringing you the same unrivalled content combining live interactive discussions and on demand sessions. You will also have the opportunity to network with peers and visit exhibitors via the virtual platform throughout the event. The full programme and information on speakers, as well as highlights videos from the 2019 event, can be found on the UK IR Society’s conference microsite.

After the live event, the virtual environment will remain live for 30 days, during which time ticket holders can revisit the site and access the on demand content as well as visiting the exhibition booths. 

The IR Society is charging a fee of £150 + VAT for IR Society members (£200 + VAT for non-members), but there is an early bird discount for any international partner bookings received by Friday 14 August, taking the price down to £75 + VAT.

As a member of IR club Schweiz, we would be delighted to invite you to register for the conference at the same rates as UK IR Society members. Please write to us if you are interested and we will give you the discount code for the registration at UK IR Society. If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to contact the UK IR Society on +44 20 7379 1763 or enquiries.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.irsociety.org.uk.

On September 23, for the first time ever, the IR Magazine Forum – Small Cap will be open up to professionals from small and micro-cap companies from around the world.

Join us virtually as we focus on the unique issues affecting small cap companies such as increasing sell-side coverage, managing volatility and more as you interact with speakers and have one-to-one networking in-between panel talks.

The IR club Schweiz is a supporting association of this virtual event and IR club members benefit from a 25% discount on tickets. Please write to us if you are interested and we will give you the discount code for the registration at IR magazine.

Program and Speakers

Current developments show that investors increasingly consider ESG an important part of their valuation of companies – but can we put numbers to these issues? A panel of sector specialists and IR professionals will discussed the state of ESG accounting in investment management.

Welcome & Closing: Chris Menth, Board member of the IR club Schweiz
Moderation: Richard Davies, RD:IR

Speakers

		Barend van Bergen is EY Global Long Term Value Methodology Leader and an Assurance Partner with Ernst & Young – United Kingdom. He has over 20 years of experience advising companies on measuring, managing and communicating the impact and long term value they create for investors and other stakeholder groups. In addition to his client work, he is a member of the EY teams working with the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism to encourage, measure and demonstrate long term value creation. Barend has authored several publications, was a part-time visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management and holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences from the Eindhoven University of Technology.
		Neil Stewart joined SASB in 2020 as its New York-based Director of Corporate Outreach, bringing more than 25 years of experience in and around investor relations and corporate governance. Previously he was at Citigroup as VP IR Advisory on the ADR team, helping non-US issuers develop IR and ESG strategies. Formerly Editorial & Research Director of both IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary magazine, Mr. Stewart is well known for having led a global lineup of conferences and awards events. He is currently president of NIRI NY, the New York chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute.
		Zoso Davies, part of the ESG working group in Barclays Research, iIs a Director in the European Credit Strategy team at Barclays, covering Investment Grade and Macro Credit. As part of his role, Dr. Davies regularly contributes to cross-asset and thematic research. Dr. Davies joined Barclays in 2010, prior to which he was awarded a PhD in Physical Chemistry by University College London.
		Jamie Mills O’Brien is an Investment Manager on the European Equities Team at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Jamie joined the company as a graduate in 2015.
		Mario Abela is a Director, Redefining Value at WBCSD where he leads projects aimed at transforming performance management, governance and assurance to make sustainability an integral part of mainstream business and investor decision-making. Mario is a CPA and Chartered Management Accountant, his expertise are in corporate reporting and he has held senior management positions in both the private and public sectors in Australia, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the US.  He has extensive regulatory and standard setting experience.  Mario is a visiting professor at IESEG School of Management in Paris where he teaches in the Masters in Accounting, Audit and Control program.

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The AGM season 2020 will be remembered as a special one. It will not only be the season with the shortest AGM meetings in history, but also the starting point to a period where a lot of existing structures will have to be rethought. The Corona crisis is not only putting a lot of strain on businesses’ operations, but is also forcing Boards of Directors to reconsider strategy and governance frameworks. A particular focus in this regard concerns an old economic principle: the integration of corporate social responsibility, incentive and capital allocation frameworks with strategy to create long-term sustainable businesses.

In this joint webinar SWIPRA Services and Morrow Sodali provided a review of the AGM Season 2020 in Switzerland and abroad and discussed key developments and themes in investor and proxy advisor behavior expected for 2021. IR club members from Nestlé and Leonteq shared their experiences and views on these topics and led into a broad discussion to exchange views amongst peers.    

Read an introduction to the topic by Andrea Bischof, Barbara Heller and Dr. Christoph Wenk.

Agenda

Speakers

		Andrea Bischoff is Managing Director of Morrow Sodali. She has more than 20 years of experience in communications and spent the past 13 years at D.F.King, where she advised listed companies including the largest Germanic corporates in several hundred AGM campaigns, proxy contests and M&A situations. During the course of her career she has helped her listed clients to understand and effectively engage and communicate with their shareholders.
		David P. Frick is Secretary to the Board of Directors of Nestlé S.A. and responsible for Corporate Governance, Compliance and Corporate Services. Over the past few years David helped Nestlé develop into a leader in Corporate Governance in its home market and beyond and runs the Company’s corporate compliance program. Prior to joining Nestlé, Mr. Frick was a Member of the Executive Board and Group General Counsel of Credit Suisse Group, and an attorney-at-law with Cravath, Swaine & Moore, the New York law firm. Mr. Frick received a JD degree from Zurich University and a Masters of Laws degree from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Zurich and the New York bar. Mr. Frick is a member of the Boards of economiesuisse, ICC Switzerland and Allianz Suisse. He serves as Chairman of SwissHoldings.
		Barbara Heller is Managing Partner at SWIPRA Services Ltd. She has many years of experience in corporate finance, capital markets and corporate governance advisory from various assignments in international investment banking, and as executive and board member. During her career, Barbara worked with her corporate clients and their stakeholders to execute strategic key initiatives and projects including IPO’s, M&A and change management projects. Currently she is also a Member of the board of directors and chairwoman of the Audit Committee of Bank Cler Ltd, Vice-Chairwoman of the Swiss CFO Forum, Chairperson of the Jury of the Swiss CFO Award and Of Counsel at Lemongrass Communications Ltd. She is also active on boards of sport and non-profit organizations and holds an MBA in economics and finance from the University of Zurich.
		Dominik Ruggli is Head Investor Relations, Communications and Marketing at Leonteq. Dominik joined the company in 2009, was appointed Head Business Planning & Analysis in 2011 and is responsible for Leonteq’s investor relations activities since 2015. During his time at Leonteq, Dominik led several key initiatives including the successful completion of a 120m rights issue, the strengthening of its corporate governance framework and the implementation of a new compensation system for the Group’s Executive Committee. He holds an MBA from the University of Zurich.
		Christoph Wenk Bernasconi is Partner at SWIPRA Services Ltd. He is a founding member of SWIPRA and responsible for the scientific approach of its projects and analyses. He is co-author of the SWIPRA Considerations for Corporate Governance and of the SFI Whitepaper on corporate governance. Further, Christoph is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich.

in cooperation with

“Impact – nothing else matters”: How can companies fully understand and manage the consequences of their business activities in economic, ecological and social terms? These and other questions were in the focus of the Geschäftsberichte-Symposium 2020. Participants were part of exciting debates among international experts drawing on thought-provoking practical examples – along with networking and sharing ideas.

Members of the IR club Schweiz benefited from a discount of CHF 100.

Read the review

At the IR Magazine Think Tank – Europe you took part in a series of interactive discussions and heard from expert speakers on the biggest issues and trends in 2020.

The think tank is unique as it is removed from the traditional conference set-up as the event consists of a series of panel sessions followed by roundtable discussions. These interactive sessions are an opportunity to share experiences with and learn from other top-rated IROs. All table discussions are confidential and none of the participants’ comments are attributed. This allows attendees to talk freely and have frank, open discussions.

If you have any questions, email Priscilla.Lim.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.irmagazine.com or call the IR Magazine team on +44 20 8004 5340.

How do you interact digitally with capital markets?

All of you who regularly communicate with external stakeholders such as potential or current investors will have noticed the following development: In recent years, a paradigm shift towards digital communication has become apparent and this is undoubtedly being accelerated by the current situation.

In the first part of the webinar, Lucas Bruggeman, CEO of BX Swiss, gave insights into the Swiss stock exchange landscape. What are the challenges to be overcome? How does digitization influence the collaboration between IROs and capital markets?

In the second part, Michèle Schnyder, Head of Investor Relations at Vontobel and Board member of the IR club Schweiz, presented the brand new results of our recent survey "Paradigm shift in IR". Which digital IR tools, channels and platforms are used by Swiss listed companies, and which trends are emerging?

Following the two keynotes, all participants were invited to share their experiences in the Q&A session.

IR club Schweiz members can download the slides and key take-aways of the webinar here.

Agenda

		Lucas Bruggeman is a native Dutchman, living in Switzerland 16 years. He worked for 17 years at ABN Amro Bank in the areas of trading, syndication and derivatives. Afterwards, he was a member of the Board of Management of Liechtensteinische Landesbank Switzerland from 2011 to 2013, where he was responsible for the supervision of external asset managers. Before joining BX Swiss AG, he spent seven years at Fintech Sentifi as a partner and investor in the Alternative Data division. During this period, Sentifi was named Swisscom Startup of the Year and Swiss Fintech of the Year. Lucas joined BX Swiss as CEO in February 2020.  BX Swiss has set itself the goal of becoming "the stock exchange of choice for private investors and independent asset managers in Switzerland".
		Michèle Schnyder is Head of Investor Relations at Vontobel and Board Member of the IR club Schweiz. Before joining Vontobel, Michèle worked 5 years in Investor Relations at Adecco Group. Previously, she spent over a decade in the financial industry at Deutsche Bank in London, Swiss Re and ZKB in Zurich. Michèle holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Zurich, Switzerland and an MBA degree from the University of Rochester, Simon School, USA.
		Cédric Baumgartner is Managing Director at EQS Group and has the overall responsibility for the product areas Compliance and Investor Relations in Switzerland. Before that he managed digital projects in corporate communications and investor relations at Geberit Group for several year. He got a master's degree in Digital Business.
		Barbara Zäch is co-managing director of the Center for Corporate Reporting (CCR). Barbara has worked for over 20 years at publicly listed companies, most recently as Head of Investor Relations at Schindler Group. Barbara brings with her a wealth of experience in the fields of investor relations, corporate reporting and sustainability.

The recording of this webinar is available in the member section.

Participants:

• Michael Stäheli – Head of Corporate Communication and Investor Relations at Conzzeta
• Kilian Maier – Co-Founder and CEO of Interaction Partners AG
• Gregory Duong – Head of Investor Relations at Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

		Michael Stäheli has in-depth experience with the positioning of companies in the capital market. As Head Investor Relations & Corporate Communications with Conzzeta, a Swiss industrial conglomerate, he promotes a consistent corporate messaging, building on an integrated reporting and the engagement with investors, analysts and proxy advisors.
		Dr. Kilian Maier, CFA, is a co-founder and CEO of Interaction Partners, an Investor Relations software and services company with a focus on investor engagement solutions. Before co-founding Interaction Partners he worked as a consultant (Accenture) and as sell-side equities analyst, head of research and country head at NZB Neuer Zürcher Bank and MainFirst (Switzerland).
		Gregory Duong is the head of Investor Relations at Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV). Before joining BCV in 2009 he worked for Euronext in Corporate Finance and Investor Relations.

A webinar discussion covering the rising importance of ESG in investment decisions. With around 50 participating Investor Relations experts, this was a great opportunity to learn how corporates can be better prepared! The recording of this webinar will be available in the member section.

Topics discussed:

• The increasing importance of ESG ratings agencies and the ESG ratings agency landscape
• How ESG data is increasingly integrated in buy-side investment decisions
• Tips for overcoming common ESG investor relations challenges
• The view from the buy-side in periods of heightened market volatility and uncertainty

Panel:

• Maria Drew, Director of Research, Responsible Investing, T. Rowe Price
• Jean-Claude Berthelot,  Director of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Sustainalytics
• Chris Menth, Head of Shareholder Engagement at Swiss Re
• Moderated by Patrick Hughes, Director at Nasdaq Corporate Solutions
  
  

powered by Nasdaq

Thank you for joining our Webinar in association with the Swiss IR Club. At Nasdaq, we are passionate about helping companies analyse, assess and action their ESG programs, with the goals of attracting long-term capital and enhancing value creation. For more information on our ESG Advisory Program, download our ESG Advisory Brochure, or please contact Thomas Labeyrie to set up an ESG assessment discussion.

		Maria Elena Drew is a director of research for Responsible Investing at T. Rowe Price. Ms. Drew leads the Responsible Investing team, which serves as specialists for incorporating environmental and social considerations into the firm’s research process. Ms. Drew has 22 years of investment experience, and held roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Putnam Investments before joining T. Rowe Price in 2017.
		Jean-Claude Berthelot is Director, EMEA Sales, Sustainable Finance Solutions at Sustainalytics. He joined the Sustainable Finance Solutions team in June 2018 and is the commercial lead for the EMEA region, based in Brussels. He has deep experience in corporate governance, ESG topics and issuer relations. In his prior role Jean-Claude oversaw sales for Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) for a number of European countries, after different role as Product Manager and Head of the EMEA Client Relations. He holds a Masters' degree in Business and Administration from Solvay Business School (ULB) in Belgium.
		Chris Menth is Head of Shareholder Engagement in Swiss Re's Corporate Secretariat. In this function he has a dual role, including Board related responsibilities (mainly related to the Audit and Chairman's & Governance Committees) but also a dotted line into the Investor Relations (IR) team assuming responsibility for key cross-functional tasks including management of the annual Chairman Roadshow with top shareholders, running the AGM related proxy solicitation campaign and coordinating ESG related activities. Chris holds a Master's degree in Business and Economics from the University of Basle. Since 2014 Chris is a board member of the IR club Schweiz.
		Patrick Hughes is a Director at Nasdaq Corporate Solutions Advisory Services and is based in London. Patrick joined Nasdaq Corporate Solutions as part of the Thomson Reuters corporate services acquisition in 2013 and has over fifteen years of investor relations experience

Over the past three weeks, the IR Magazine has been inundated with queries from the global IR community looking to understand how they should adapt their work and navigate these uncharted waters. In response, the IR Magazine in cooperation with the IR club Schweiz will be holding a first-of-its kind virtual IR conference to provide IROs with access to experts from across the globe.

This one-day virtual event is free to attend and will be live-streamed globally. The sessions will also be available to view on-demand. IR professionals from across the globe will also have the opportunity to network with fellow attendees and share their experiences on issues impacting public companies and their investors.

If you have any questions, email Priscilla.Lim.dont-like-spam@ich-will-kein-spam.irmagazine.com or call the IR Magazine team on +44 20 8004 5340.

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The IR club Schweiz has adapted to the current situation and held this year’s AGM via web conference. Many thanks to our members who took their time and dialed in. All proposals were accepted unanimously, and all board members were re-elected. As announced last year, Michel Gerber has resigned after more than 13 years as president. We are very pleased to announce his successor – congratulations, Lorna Davie! A big thank you also to our speakers Michael Miller and Jason Oury from IHS Markit, who provided our members with an exciting presentation on how to establish, measure and report on KPIs for your IR program. 

IR club Schweiz members can download the AGM documents here.

Agenda:

Speakers:

		Michael Miller is Director, Investor Relations Advisory at IHS Markit, focused on providing innovative solutions and actionable intel to clients through IHS Markit’s unique product and service offerings.  He is an IR veteran with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.
		Jason Oury leads IHS Markit's Global Corporate Solutions Advisory business, overseeing over $50M in revenue with a team of over 200 employees and analysts operating in multiple, international locations. This division has become the largest, organically grown investor relations service provider in the history of the industry.

Virtual IR meetings – challenges and opportunities

Our year-end event, the traditional Chlaushöck, took place directly after the SIX IR conference. Our partner Chorus Call hosted it and talked about latest technology as success factors for conferencing with your investor base.

As we all know, teleconferencing can be complex. Carmen Vece-Sánchez, General Manager at Chorus Call, gave us an introductory overview of all aspects for a successful conference call or webcast event. What are the current market trends? Are virtual meetings really the springboard to the future? And what about security, quality and equipment? Is a carbon-friendly option an attractor for ESG investors? Besides you had a live experience of their innovative offerings.

The evening closed with the traditional dinner at LY'S Asia, offered by our partner Chorus Call.  

Agenda

Zwischen Isolation und Integration

Die „One-Voice-Policy“ ist ein ehernes Gebot der Unternehmenskommunikation, insbesondere in der Finanzkommunikation börsenkotierter Gesellschaften. Diese richtet sich zwar in erster Linie an Kapitalmarktakteure, bedient in der Praxis aber auch Medien, Mitarbeitende und weitere Stakeholder mit Informationen.

Existiert die klassische Aufgabenverteilung zwischen Investor Relations und Corporate Communications noch? Wie sieht die Kooperation und Koordination von Investor Relations und Corporate Communications in der Praxis aus? Welche Ziele verfolgen die Funktionen, und wie stimmen sie sich ab? In welchen Punkten unterscheidet sich ihre DNA, und welche Folgen hat eine stärkere Integration der Abteilungen?

Diese Fragen waren Teil einer Studie zum Thema „Integrierte Finanzkommunikation“, die vom Center for Research in Financial Communication von der Universität Leipzig in der DACH-Region durchgeführt wurde.

Im ersten Teil des Workshops erläuterte Prof. Dr. Christian Hoffmann von der Universität Leipzig die Ergebnisse dieser umfassenden Studie. Marc Kaiser, Leiter Corporate Communications und Investor Relations bei der Baloise Group, sowie Chris Menth, Head Shareholder Engagement bei Swiss Re, zeigten auf, wie sie in ihren Unternehmen diese Bereiche organisiert und die Aufgaben verteilt haben. In der anschliessenden Paneldiskussion erläuterten sie ihre Sicht auf die Herausforderungen kultureller und disziplinärer Unterschiede von IR und CC, veranschaulichten die Vor- und Nachteile integrierter Abteilungen und stellten sich den Fragen der Teilnehmenden.

Agenda

In best summer weather, numerous IR club members met again this year for the Kepler Cheuvreux Barbecue.

Paul Marsland, Senior Governance Analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, opened the event with an exciting keynote speech on the topic “Climate & the Banks – Accounting for Sustainability”, followed by a lively Q&A session.

Afterwards the guests met for a delicious barbecue and extensive networking on the roof terrace.

Besides meeting regulatory requirements what does reporting need to achieve today? Join the debate with international experts and peers at the Anniversary Symposium. Get inspired by informative best practice cases and learn what further value your annual report can contribute.

Members of the IR club Schweiz benefitted from a discount of CHF 150.00 (please note in the comment field when registering).

View the program

The Swiss benchmark index SMI recently celebrated its 30th birthday. On this occasion, the Swiss Finance Museum opened an exclusive special exhibition entitled "30 Years SMI: Equity Indices Explained!". We invited our IR club members to an entertaining and multimedia excursion into the world of indices. What is a blue chip index? What are indices used for? What are the origins and history of SMI, Dow Jones, Nikkei & Co.?

After the tour an exciting keynote speech by the IR club president Michel Gerber awaited our members. He knows from his own experience how IR work in a small or mid cap differs from that in an SMI group. At the concluding networking apéro there was the opportunity for a personal exchange with peers.

About one third of our members joined this year's Annual General Meeting at the premises of Partners Group in Baar/ZG. The General Meeting approved until the closure of the next Ordinary General Meeting the re-election of Michel Gerber (president), Christine Kukan, Michèle Schnyder and Chris Menth. Newy elected to the Board were Lorna Davies, Credit Suisse, and Michael Staeheli, Conzzeta. The resolutions and voting results will be made available in the AGM minutes.

In addition, all participants enjoyed an impressive tour d’horizon on Partners Group business model, their global activities and their culture. Responsible for this great presentation were Philip Sauer, Co-Head of Group Finance and Corporate Development, as well as Alex Soppera. To round off the event, we offered a networking apéro that everybody joined to continue the interesting discussions.

Agenda:

Indices are becoming increasingly important in the financial world and therefore are also of importance to you as an issuer. SIX presents in the context of this breakfast session the latest updates on indices and puts a focus on SARON – the Swiss Average Rate Overnight that will replace the current reference rate LIBOR in the near future.

Get first hand insights according to the following agenda:

Agenda:

Thanks to our partnership with SIX, you get access to this event as an IR club member. Please register directly at SIX by Wednesday, 27 February 2019. The number of participants is limited.

Digital Leadership bei Outdoor-Bekleidung von Mammut 

Der Name Mammut steht für hohe Qualität und anmutiges Design. Welche Bedeutung haben Innovation, Kreativität und Marke für langfristigen unternehmerischen Erfolg? Wie wird Digitalisierung im Bereich Outdoor-Bekleidung und -ausrüstung genutzt? Was sind die pros und cons bei der consumer centricity?

Am 29. November trafen sich IR club Mitglieder zum letzten Anlass des Jahres 2018. Der Chlaushöck wurde von Matthias Hanny, Chief B2C Officer bei Mammut, mit seinem spannenden Vortrag zum Thema Digital Leadership bei Outdoor Bekleidung von Mammut eingeleitet. Wir erhielten u.a. nicht alltägliche Einblicke in die Bedeutung von Innovation, Kreativität und Marke bei Mammut. Zudem nahm uns Matthias mit auf Mammut’s High-Speed-Transformation, bei der Strategie, Struktur und Menschen die Grundlage für den zukünftigen Erfolg legen. Ein weiteres Highlight war die Möglichkeit, innovative Lösungen am Produkt selbst zu erleben.

Selbstverständlich war auch für das leibliche Wohl mit einem feinen Z’Nacht gesorgt, das für intensive Gespräche genutzt wurde. 

Investor Relations Officers had a look behind the curtain and were made aware of the many tasks the sellside has to accomplish in the early morning before the markets open at 9.00 am. Their working day actually starts when the sun goes down the evening before and continues in the morning at 6.30 am at the latest preparing the conference call starting at 7.30 am for the European morning meeting followed by the Swiss meeting. IR club Schweiz participants had the chance to listen into both and also get insights on the follow-up tasks of the analysts’ and sales’ team and how these tasks changed over time. One of the learnings was that analysts have to summarize the most important news on the companies they cover within 5 minutes max. (including Q+A from sales) and that it facilitates their work substantially if companies provide top line growth rates not only in the reporting currency but also in local currencies in their news. 

A very interesting morning closed with a lovely breakfast offered by Kepler Cheuvreux and the opportunity to network and to discuss with analysts, sales and IR club Schweiz members. 

The event was well attended and started with a presentation on this summer’s survey on CRM platforms for the IR work. It was followed by a presentation from our host Conzzeta and their reasons to evaluate such platforms and how they did it. This led into a lively discussion on latest developments in IR work and one of the findings was that there is no “one size fits all” solution and that decision-making is quite difficult at this moment in time since the landscape around MIFID II is quite volatile. One suggestion to form kind of an interest group will be followed up. 

    

Vor dem FCZ Museum hat sich eine lange Schlange gebildet: die Ticketverkäufe für die UEFA Europa League laufen auf Hochtouren. Zur gleichen Zeit treffen sich im Museum rund 20 IR-Experten zu einer Führung durch die Ausstellung und zum exklusiven Austausch mit Ancillo Canepa, Präsident des FCZ: «Im Grunde genommen ist der FC Zürich ähnlich aufgebaut wie eure Unternehmen; einzig unser Produkt, der Fussball, ist wohl ein wenig schwerer fassbar als eure Produktepalette. So können wir unsere jährlichen Ausgaben zwar gut einschätzen, die Einnahmen hingegen variieren je nach Turnierverlauf oder Bekanntheit der gegnerischen Mannschaften stark.» 

Von Ancillo Canepa erhielten die Teilnehmenden nicht nur spannende Einblicke in die komplexe Führung eines Fussballclubs, sondern auch Antworten auf ihre brennendsten Fragen. Das eine oder andere Aha-Erlebnis liess nicht lange auf sich warten: Oder hätten Sie gewusst, dass Hans Gamper, Gründer des FCZ, einige Jahre später den heute überragenden FC Barcelona gründete?

Beim abschliessenden Networking Apéro wurden rege Fotos mit dem originalen Cup Pokal geschossen und Meinungen zum Gehörten ausgetauscht. Und bald besteht Möglichkeit für weitere Diskussionen: alle Teilnehmenden wurden von Herrn Canepa persönlich zu einem FCZ-Spiel eingeladen.