Arbor CEO Sam Levenson was honored to serve as the chair of NIRI’s first Think Tank on Artificial Intelligence in Investor Relations. This is the latest iteration of NIRI’s annual, topic-specific Think Tank tasked with creating thought leadership that will better enable NIRI, IR practitioners and IR stakeholders to plan for and respond to change.
The Think Tank convened a group of volunteer thought leaders in 2019 and generated a 2020 report, “Artificial Intelligence in Investor Relations,” which provides an overview of artificial intelligence and its long-term impacts on the IR profession.
Guided by an outside advisor, the Think Tank on AI in IR undertook a foresight process to examine the evolving dynamics of the effect of AI on the IR profession and identify specific recommendations regarding IR practice. The resulting report ultimately represents a clear call to action to develop the capabilities required to work effectively in a world with greatly increased automation.
Q4, a sponsor of the Think Tank report, was kind enough to publish a concise summary of the findings:
Artificial intelligence is reshaping investor relations in fundamental ways. Recognizing AI’s impact on valuation and investment decisions will change everything from strategy development, communications, and how we advise the Board and management. It will also require a deeper understanding of the capital markets.
To remain indispensable contributors to corporate success in this new context, the report advises that IR professionals:
· Understand and adapt to how AI is being used in external audiences and use that to inform how to interact with these parties and anticipate their reactions;
· Centralize external communications to tightly manage specific word usage and overall messaging as they become a trackable lexicon to feed AI-automated trading algorithms;
· Determine how to use and benefit from AI internally to increase productivity and explore bringing a data and tech orientation to IR functions; and
· Proceed down the automation path responsibly and ethically.
Q4
To access the full NIRI Think Tank on AI in IR Report, visit NIRI’s website here.