Investor relations remuneration increase
The investor relations industry has experienced an uptick in remuneration thanks to the changing dynamics of the buy-side and sell-side leading to increased interactions that investor relation teams have with the investment community, a survey finds.
A survey by the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) found the median fixed remuneration for investor relations professionals across all of the ASX200 and NZX50 at July 2019 was $301,000 - $325,000 compared to $251,000 - $275,000 in 2018.
The only cohort to experience a decrease in remuneration were the ASX50 companies with a median fixed remuneration of $376,000 - $400,000 in 2019, down from $426,000 - $450,000 in 2018.
“Anecdotally, this would seem to be explained by the trend for executives in large cap companies to have more of their total remuneration ‘at risk’,” AIRA said.
Median remuneration
|
Companies |
2019 median fixed remuneration |
2018 median fixed remuneration |
Increase or decrease |
|
ASX50 |
$376,000 - $400,000 |
$426,000 - $450,000 |
Decrease |
|
ASX51-100 |
$301,000 - $325,000 |
$276,000 - $300,000 |
Increase |
|
ASX101-150 |
$276,000 - $300,000 |
$226,000 - $250,000 |
Increase |
|
ASX151-200 |
$201,000 - $225,000 |
$226,000 - $250,000 |
Increase |
Source: AIRA
It noted that investor relations function was strengthening its importance within listed entities and respondents reported growth in tasks, team size, and responsibilities such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
AIRA chief executive, Ian Matheson, said there had been an increasing trend of investor relations professionals managing larger teams of people.
“Changes in the way listed entities engage with the investment community as a result of structural change have meant the investor relations function has stepped up to fill the void leading to increased responsibility and larger teams,” he said.
The survey said increases in short-term incentive payments indicated there was a greater portion of total remuneration being based on the performance of investor relations staff.
“90% of respondents received short-term incentives as a percentage of total remuneration in 2019, compared to 86% in 2018. The short-term incentive payment range, as a percentage of fixed annual salary, increased in 2019 to 21-30% compared to 11-20% in 2018 and 2017,” the survey said.
However, long-term incentives decreased slightly from 56% in 2018 to 52% in 2019. The most popular long-term incentive was performance rights which remained unchanged at 39%.
The survey respondents who received shares decreased 5% to 19% in 2019. Similarly, options decreased to 5% in 2019 from 10%.
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