DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verband e.V.

DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verband e.V. (formerly Deutscher Investor Relations Kreis) is the German professional association for investor relations (IR). It is the largest European professional association connecting companies and capital markets, and it represents roughly 90% of exchange-listed capital in Germany. The association gives investor relations a voice and acts as an independent competence center that optimizes dialogue between issuers, capital providers and relevant intermediaries, setting professional quality standards for the field. DIRK is not only a professional association for IR officers but also an issuer representative body for companies that issue shares. Natural persons may also hold extraordinary membership. Its activities are organized around five fields: formulating practical standards, education and training, anchoring IR in academia, interest representation, and network and services. It publishes handbooks such as the DIRK-IR-Guides and the DIRK research series, and it issues statements on capital-market regulation and corporate governance, for example on the German Corporate Governance Code. The association is governed by a board of up to eight members, each an experienced investor relations officer. The board is led by a president and a vice president, with a treasurer and further board members. Honorary presidents and honorary members are also recognized. The managing director is Kay Bommer. Board members come from major listed companies such as RWE, Sartorius, SGL Carbon, Brenntag, Hornbach, Zalando, Hannover Re and GEA. DIRK runs education and certification programs, including the Certified Investor Relations Officer (CIRO) seminar series developed with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, awarded since 2002 and recognized as an advanced training qualification. Since 2001 it has awarded the German Investor Relations Prize together with Extel - An Institutional Investor Company and WirtschaftsWoche. Since 1998 it has held an annual spring conference that has become a dialogue platform for IR topics, open to members and non-members alike. The association also maintains a knowledge database, IR-Wissen, and organizes webinars and member assemblies.

The DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verband e.V. was originally founded as the Deutscher Investor Relations Kreis. It is the German professional association for investor relations (IR). The association sees itself not only as a professional body for IR officers but also as an issuer representative for companies that issue shares; natural persons may also hold extraordinary membership. The association has set itself the goal of setting standards for communication between companies and the capital market. To this end, a seminar series was developed in cooperation with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management as advanced training to become a Certified Investor Relations Officer (CIRO). The certificate has been awarded since 2002 and is now recognized as an advanced training qualification. By the end of 2014, 250 participants had attended the course and just under 200 had received the certificate, out of around 1,000 IR managers working in Germany at the time. Since 2001, the German Investor Relations Prize has been awarded annually together with Extel - An Institutional Investor Company and WirtschaftsWoche. The prizes recognize individuals who outstandingly meet the demands of good IR in their role and stand out from the crowd. Since 1998, DIRK has organized a conference every spring, which has developed into a dialogue platform for IR topics. The DIRK conference is a public event to which not only members are invited but all those interested in current issues of financial market communication. In 2004, DIRK e.V. (ed.) published the Handbuch Investor Relations (773 pages, ISBN 978-3-322-90343-3). In 2015, Kristin Köhler published Investor Relations in Deutschland: Institutionalisierung - Professionalisierung - Kapitalmarktentwicklung - Perspektiven (Springer-Verlag, 450 pages, ISBN 978-3-658-09244-3). Today DIRK describes itself as the largest European professional association for the connection between companies and capital markets. It gives investor relations a voice and represents around 90% of exchange-listed capital in Germany. As an independent competence center, it optimizes dialogue between issuers, capital providers and relevant intermediaries and sets professional quality standards. Members receive technical support and practical knowledge as well as access to networks and IR professionals from around the world. At the same time, the association promotes the IR profession and offers extensive education and training opportunities in close cooperation with academia and research. The association's activities are organized into five fields: formulation of practical standards, education and training, anchoring in academia, interest representation, and network and services. It publishes handbooks such as the DIRK-IR-Guides and the DIRK research series, and it issues statements on capital-market regulation and corporate governance, for example on the German Corporate Governance Code. It also maintains the IR-Wissen knowledge database and organizes webinars and member assemblies.

• 2015

  Kristin Köhler publishes Investor Relations in Deutschland (Springer-Verlag, 450 pages).

• 2014

  By year-end, 250 participants have attended the CIRO course and just under 200 have received the certificate.

• 2004

  DIRK e.V. (ed.) publishes the Handbuch Investor Relations (773 pages).

• 2002

  The Certified Investor Relations Officer (CIRO) certificate is first awarded, developed with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

• 2001

  The German Investor Relations Prize is awarded annually together with Extel - An Institutional Investor Company and WirtschaftsWoche.

• 1998

  DIRK begins holding an annual spring conference, which becomes a dialogue platform for IR topics.

Independent competence center and largest European professional association for investor relations, representing around 90% of listed capital in Germany.

• Certified Investor Relations Officer (CIRO)

  Advanced training seminar series developed with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, awarded since 2002 and recognized as an advanced training qualification.

• DIRK-IR-Guides

  Handbooks and practical standards for capital-market communication.

• DIRK research series

  Research publications on IR topics, e.g. Volume 35 on CSRD implementation.

• German Investor Relations Prize

  Annual award since 2001 with Extel and WirtschaftsWoche recognizing outstanding IR individuals.

• DIRK annual conference

  Public spring conference held since 1998, open to members and non-members.

• IR-Wissen knowledge database

  Online knowledge database for investor relations.

1. 1DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verbanddirk.org
2. 2Wir über Uns › DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verbanddirk.org
3. 3Vorstand › DIRK - Deutscher Investor Relations Verbanddirk.org
4. 4Deutscher Investor Relations Verbandde.wikipedia.org
5. 5DIRK e.V.wikidata.org