Investor Relations as a Public Relations Function: A State of the Profession in the United States

Abstract

There are no majors, or even minors, in investor relations for undergraduate students in the United States. Yet, the association of investor relations professionals, the National Investor Relations Institute, has 4,300 members. The questions, then, become who works in the investor relations departments and investor relations agencies, where do they come from, and, more important, what does it mean for the status of investor relations as a profession? This study addresses these questions by conducting a random probability sampling of investor relations professionals to investigate their educational backgrounds, organizational structures, reporting relationships, and other variables. The study concludes that investor relations is still primarily a financial function: Investor relations professionals have financial or business backgrounds and report to the financial executives rather than to the communication executives or to the Chief Executive Officer.