Past events

“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.

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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.