The board of directors of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) has endorsed best practice guidelines governing the relationship between securities analysts and the companies they cover.

The guidelines were prepared by a joint task force organized by the CFA Institute and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) in the United States.

The final guidelines were released by the CFA Institute and NIRI last week. CIRI was represented on the task force by Ron Blunn, chairman of the issues committee of the board of directors.

The guidelines are ethical principles aimed at assisting companies in their efforts to support the independence and objectivity of analysts and to advance a mutually beneficial relationship that is in keeping with the best interests of investors.

The guidelines cover:

  • Information flow between analysts and corporate issuers.
  • Analysts’ conduct in preparing and publishing research reports and making investment recommendations.
  • Corporate issuers’ conduct in providing analysts with access to corporate management.
  • Review of sell-side analyst reports by corporate issuers.
  • Research that is solicited, paid or sponsored by the issuer.

    The guidelines can be found on the CIRI Web site.