When it comes to investor relations (IR), it is always a debatable topic if it is a profession that is science or art-centric. Given the amount of financial figures our consultants crunch during the quarterly earnings season, it is hardly fair to disregard our flair for art as we craft investment thesis and carefully establish the right corporate positioning for our clients.

The financial market of Singapore remains largely sceptical about the importance of IR and how it can truly value add one’s company and help unlock shareholder value. That being said, the onus should fall on IR professionals as we consistently seek to reinvent yardsticks of success.

Let us explore the five 5s which have led to our success today as Singapore’s top IR firm:

 1)         Substance

• Understanding our clients’ business ecosystem and comprehensive suite of offerings
• Going beyond basic messaging to shape the substance of our clients’ businesses

  2)       Science

• Carry out detailed and extensive analysis of our clients’ financial performance
• Generate financial models supplemented by research algorithms and automated analysis methods

  3)       Story

• Extracting the relevant information that would appeal to our target audience of analysts, investors and media
• Assembling the right mix of data and refining the investment story to make it compelling

  4)       Simplicity

• Keeping our messages simple but succinct to deliver only the essence of information
• Complexity compromises speed so keep communication understandable by the laymen

  5)       Speed

• Staying adjacent to the pace of our clients’ industry developments with our sector-focused practice
• Real time responsiveness to crisis situations and stakeholders’ queries

These five 5s form the basic parameters for some of our IR consultants who have achieved success in enhancing shareholder value for their clients. (Please click here to learn about some of the case studies) We however believe in staying dynamic to consistently revolve ourselves and adopting the best IR practices to customise the framework relevant to each and every of our client.

Chong Yap is a Senior Consultant at Financial PR Singapore