Investor relations are those activities of a publicly traded company that deal with the disclosure or release of information to the bond and stock holders of the company. Investor relations also refer to those activities that are required to support the market regulatory requirements.
Large companies have entire departments and web sites dedicated to investor relations now. It is very important that the information is released to the investors correctly and in a timely fashion. This is required to ensure that the market place remains a fair and level playing field for all who participate. Investor relations concern any information about the company that may affect the stock price or earnings of the company. Earnings releases, earnings forecasts, annual and quarterly reports and most press releases, are all part of investor relations and the responsibility of the investor relations officer or department.
In the past investor relations focused on just the release of financial information, but the current trend is for increasing the scope to the degree that almost everything issued by the company is the responsibility of the investor relations department. This is in part due to the increased regulatory requirements and also in part due to the recognition that almost everything a company does either immediately or eventually will affect profits or the stock price.
If you are thinking of investing in a company and would like more information you would contact the investor relations department. It is their role to interact with you the investor and provide any information you require. They will be very helpful because in a real sense they are also trying to market the company to you. It is in the company’s best interest to attract investors, since investors are a source of capital for the company, and increased investor interest leads to increases in the company’s stock price. The investor relations department is the company’s only interaction with the stock market that it has full control over.