what is the definition of "investor relations services" - as they
relate to the services provided by a stock exchange listed company to
their investors AND as they relate to the vendors of those services to
listed companies. For example "webcasts" managed by third parties
enable the simultaneous release of information to the marketplace.
Exactly what is the full universe of services (with a description of
each and how they are offered/ utilised) that can be offered to listed
companies or indeed used by listed companies themselves to satisfy in
full their corporate governance obligations. Obviously only the top
listed companies in the world can afford the full service offering to
investors - there are investor relations institutes in the world that
will probably enlighten me but prior to joining them I need a
comprehensive list of products - there are also specialist investor
relations companies but obtaining information as a layman from them is
near impossible.

Investor relations services are primarily focused on encouraging
investors to buy shares in the company.  Companies have the option of
performing some of these functions internally, but outsourcers exist
that can provide a complete package of investor relations services. 
An example of such a company is AGORA Investor Relations
(http://www.AgoraIR.com), which touts its ability to provide a
complete investor relations department to small-cap companies.  Some
examples of the types of services it provides are listed at
http://www.agoracom.com/brochure/index7.html.  These include answering
questions from investors, preparing press releases and other
documents, and communicating with shareholders.  The Internet has
radically affected investor relations services, making communication
much cheaper and easier than it has ever been before.

An example of a company that offers a broad range of investor
relations services to its investors is Plum Creek.  The company has a
link to an investor relations portal from its web site.  This IR web
site is operated by Thomson
(http://www.thomson.com/common/view_brand_overview.jsp?section=financial&body_include=/financial/brand_overviews/I_R_Web_Hosting&page_mode=full&subsection=&secondary=ir_officer&subnav=corp&tertiary=&product_name=Thomson/CCBN_IR_Web_Hosting).
 The web site includes a description of the company, press releases,
financial data, links to webcasts of conference calls and analyst
presentations, information about the company's transfer agent, and
information about the stock.

All of these materials can be sourced from third parties.  Conference
call and webcast infrastructure are typically managed by a third
party.  An outsourcer such as Call Street (www.callstreet.com) may be
hired to produce a transcript of the conference call.  Share data can
be acquired from the exchange on which it trades and/or information
providers such as EDGAR Online (http://www.edgar-online.com/).  The
company's transfer agent, such as Computershare
(http://www-us.computershare.com/ourservices/default.asp?cc=us&lang=en&bhjs=1&fla=1&theme=cpu)
maintains a listing of shareholders of record and can also provide
services to administer company stock plans for a company's employees. 
The transfer agent is also typically involved with producing stock
certificates, managing direct investment and/or dividend reinvestment
plans, and may also provide annual shareholder meeting services. 
Third-party fulfillment services typically satisfy requests for hard
copies of annual reports to shareholders and SEC filings.  Outside
publicists may be involved in the creation of press releases and
typically are used to disseminate them.

Other important aspects of investor relations include ensuring the
company's communications comply with SEC regulations, such as
Regulation FD, and that the company avails itself of the Safe Harbor
for Forward-Looking Statements when its executives communicate.  A
critical component of this is managing interactions with analysts. 
Although they are not typically investors themselves, they play an
important role in communicating information to investors.  Regulation
FD is especially directed towards ensuring that analysts do not gain
access to information before the investing public.  Therefore,
ensuring that all investors have equal access to information is a
significant role of investor relations.

I hope this furthers your understanding of the many functions that
fall into the area of "investor relations services."  Companies can
choose to provide many of the services themselves, but even large
companies find it beneficial to outsource at least a portion of the
services to specialized third parties.

Sincerely,

Wonko