We recently had a chance to interview Maureen Wolff-Reid (bio at the end of the article), a pioneer in the investor relations and corporate communications industry.  She is a past chairman of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and President and Partner of Sharon Merrill Associates in Boston.  This post originally appeared on New Rules of Investing.

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It seems in regard to newer channels of communication, Reg FD has led to a diminishing in frequency of communications.  In spite of leveling the investment playing field, is this a long-term good for investors?
Maureen Wolff-Reid, President: Reg FD has largely succeeded in leveling the playing field while maintaining the frequency of communications between companies and the investment community.  This is a long-term good as investors have a higher degree of confidence that they can make educated investment decisions with access to the same information as any other investor.

What’s the communication plan for companies in the future with new technologies like webcasting, XBRL, blogs, Facebook and Twitter?
MWR: Webcasting has been a ubiquitous tool for companies to reach out to investor audiences for many years, and XBRL soon will be a requirement for all public companies.  It remains to be seen how prevalent some of the new technologies will be, although blogs are being used increasingly by both investors and public companies.  The next generation of investor communications is still in its early stages.  In the future, online resources such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter may offer opportunities for groups of investors to exchange ideas.

Are execution issues with wire services perpetuating a form of selective dissemination for paid subscribers to these services?  Will companies follow Sun’ Microsystems’ lead and go direct to EDGAR in the future and bypass the wires?

MWR: Wire services currently constitute full disclosure of material news.  News releases distributed over a wire service are publicly available on the services’ websites and are sent to online resources such as Yahoo! Finance.  Bypassing the wire services as Sun has done may offer companies significant cost savings; but there is a trade-off in the loss of potential visibility and opportunity to fully explain the news.  In the future, posting to the company’s website might constitute full disclosure under the SEC’s guidelines and then companies may decide to simply post press releases on their corporate web sites in lieu of wire service distribution.

SeekingAlpha is providing free access to earnings transcripts.  Is this something that individual investors will benefit from or are these reports somewhat arcane for most investors?
MWR: Quarterly conference call and investor conference transcripts have become a valuable resource for both individual and institutional investors.  SeekingAlpha’s approach to publishing transcripts at no cost to the public is a great asset for individual investors, who previously had limited access.  Very few people have the time to listen to a complete webcast or comb through the SEC filings of all the companies in their portfolio.  Additionally, with more companies holding their conference calls closer to the 10K and 10Q filing deadlines, there are many calls being held at the same time.  By making the transcripts available and easily searchable by keyword, SeekingAlpha is saving investors time and money, while helping them to make more educated investment decisions.

Thanks.

Maureen T. Wolff-Reid
President & Partner

Based in Boston, Sharon Merrill Associates has been executing award-winning programs and staying in daily contact with Wall Street and the media since 1985. Today, the firm is a nationally recognized investor relations and corporate communications strategic advisory firm serving public and private companies in a broad range of industries. In addition to providing Sharon Merrill Associates with leadership and long-term vision in her role as president, Maureen supports clients with strategic counsel, directs the agency’s operations and is active in business development.  During her more than 20 years with the agency, Maureen has conceptualized, planned and implemented investor relations and corporate communications programs for a diverse array of companies across a broad spectrum of industries.  A nationally recognized leader in the fields of investor relations and corporate communications, Maureen is a past chairman of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and is currently serving on the editorial advisory board of NIRI’s IR Update publication.  She was a member of the board of directors of the organization for four years.  She also is a past president and honorary director of NIRI’s Boston Chapter.

She is a frequent speaker on IR issues and has authored numerous articles for business publications.  A noted expert on IR topics, Maureen’s comments have appeared in Bloomberg Magazine, CFO Magazine, CBNC, Compliance Week, FinancialWeek, Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, IR Update and Management Review.  Maureen’s work at Sharon Merrill Associates has earned her awards from the Public Relations Society of America and Publicity Club of Boston.  In 2005 she was named as one of the “Top 10 PR Specialists” in Boston by the readers of Women’s Business magazine.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Montclair State University.

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