Investor Relations Consulting

CPG's managing directors work closely with corporate management teams to design and develop customized, results-oriented, and cost-effective investor relations programs that highlight key messages, enhance credibility, and increase visibility to the most appropriate investors. CPG delivers original ideas to heighten investor awareness and executes the complete program, freeing busy executives from many of the time-consuming burdens associated with public ownership. From the development of disclosure policy statements that mitigate corporate directors' and officers' liability and reduce associated expenses, to discreet industry and peer/competitor surveillance services that are unparalleled, to direct introductions with pre-qualified institutional investors, CPG can add tangible value to any corporation's IR program. Each client program is individually tailored to complement its in-house resources and can be implemented with monthly retainers, fixed-price projects, and/or hourly programs. Results are documented and relayed to management, providing easy evaluation of each program’s effect on investor perceptions of the company. CPG's comprehensive range of IR services allows corporations to efficiently outsource some or all of their IR functions, offering the peace of mind that comes with fixed pricing and state-of-the-art best practices. (top)

Investor Fact Sheets

The investor fact sheet is a valuable tool for expanding investor awareness of your company. CPG takes an active role in creating and updating, at least quarterly, this informative, effective means of communication, which is then uploaded to your website, made available for e-mailing via PDF, and printed for inclusion with investor packets. For companies with limited or no sell-side research coverage, the CPG investor fact sheet provides a convenient source of timely financial information that is consistently accurate and often comes to be relied upon by investors as well as employees. (top)

Press Releases

CPG will do the initial drafting, or edit copy prepared by the client. We manage the issuance and distribution of the press release—from obtaining exchange approval to monitoring newswire pickup and dissemination for timeliness and accuracy—and will have a CFA Charterholder available to act as investor and analyst contact as well as company spokesperson, when needed. (top)

Investor Targeting

CPG has extensive experience identifying institutional portfolio managers as well as buy- and sell-side equity analysts whose criteria are consistent with our client companies' investment merits. In addition to the numerous personal relationships developed by CPG's managing directors in major financial centers such as New York, Boston and Chicago, we have crafted proven, cost-effective techniques for uncovering investors nationwide who fit our clients' targeting criteria. CPG's innovative technology goes well beyond tracking 13-F filings by also providing information concerning non-filing money managers and hedge funds. The result is much greater awareness regarding entities performing due diligence on your company. Our proprietary database includes many institutional investors who are not 13-F filers, which can be critical for smaller cap companies. (top)

Investor Introductions

We pride ourselves on CPG's ability to arrange results-oriented meetings with pre-qualified institutional investors, analysts, and other centers of influence working in the capital markets—including specialists, market makers, large-producing brokers and investment bankers—all to the benefit of our clients. Prior to these meetings, we discuss with our clients each individual’s criteria or strategy for investment and determine the most effective method of presentation. We regularly accompany our clients to these meetings to make introductions, increasing the level of comfort for our clients as well as the audience. (top)

Annual Reports

CPG guides its clients in all aspects of the annual report development process. The annual report can be an important tool for clearly articulating your company's message without the need to spend exorbitant sums on design or layout. CPG will also assist by drafting or editing the annual letter to shareholders and other content in the report. In addition, CPG maintains a host of resources for graphic design and creative work. These relationships directly benefit clients by matching their preferred level of creative input with the most appropriate provider. CPG then manages the engagement on behalf of the client. (top)

E-Proxy

The Securities and Exchange Commission has made the Internet-based delivery of proxy materials mandatory for some companies beginning in 2008 and all public companies in 2009. Adhering to the recently created Notice Only Proxy distribution requirements set forth by the SEC, CPG is uniquely positioned to deliver a turnkey solution for the electronic delivery of proxy materials (e-Proxy). With CPG’s assistance, the use of the Internet as a delivery platform can enhance corporate governance, improve the shareholder communication process, and significantly reduce the cost of printing and delivering paper proxy materials while, at the same time, providing an environmentally preferable solution.

CPG also will inventory your proxy materials, host the requisite webpage, perform on-demand fulfillment and record-keeping, and provide on-demand printing when necessary. (top)

IR Website Maintenance

Via its own innovative technology platform, CPG manages the maintenance of the entire IR portion of client companies' websites. Through regularly scheduled audits, CPG ensures the accuracy of the IR content on the site, optimizing its impact. Our standard IR service bundle includes the elements provided by other IR services, but goes well beyond. Included are features such as embedded detailed stock quotes, interactive charting and formatted SEC filings, to name just a few, for which other service providers charge hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars each and every month. In addition, we upload press releases and other data in real time to our clients' sites as well as draft and furnish full-color PDF company fact sheets that are routinely updated and uploaded. The ClearSite service exceeds SOX and exchange corporate governance compliance mandates and also can provide management with logs detailing visitors to the company's website, when they visited and for how long, as well as what they viewed or downloaded while they were there. These features are included at no extra charge, creating significant savings for our clients while enhancing timeliness and usability for current and prospective shareholders. (top)

SEC and Stock Exchange Compliance

CPG provides guidance on the dissemination of information to the financial community, keeping an eye on SEC and exchange requirements and promptly informing managements of our client companies when relevant new regulations arise. This includes securing the appropriate stock exchange clearance before issuing any news releases, assisting with new-listing applications and de-listing proceedings, and helping to ensure compliance with all SEC Regulation FD and SOX requirements. (top)

Peer Surveillance

CPG can discreetly provide customized peer surveillance reports for your company. Relevant news, meaningful institutional investor buy/sell activity, analyst coverage, and estimate or rating changes—plus trading activity, stock price performance, valuation metrics and other appropriate financial ratios—are included. CPG monitors opinions, reports, morning notes, and daily alerts from research departments at more than 800 brokerage firms, investment banks, independent research firms, and rating agencies related to your company, its peers, competitors, and industry. Additionally, nearly 10,000 media sources from more than 100 countries, including key television and radio transcripts, are concurrently monitored—together with more than 120 continuously updated newswires—for mention of CPG client companies, their respective peers, competitors, and industries. All citations are instantly screened and significant referrals are brought to management's attention. (top)

IR Activity Reports

CPG's clients can be regularly apprised of investor relations activities via IR activity reports. We highlight recent activities and ongoing programs as well as future objectives. We also monitor trading volume, bid/ask spreads, and relative valuation multiples to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. These reports are instrumental in helping to ensure that senior management is kept intimately involved with IR initiatives. (top)

Crisis Management

Through literally decades of hands-on practice, we have observed that a management credibility quotient exists in every company's stock price. It is not bestowed; it is earned over time. Consistent commitment to the following practices can significantly enhance the credibility of any organization's management team:

•             Limit the number of messengers.

•             Know your investors.

•             Manage investor expectations.

•             Communicate openly in good times and bad.

•             Always follow the intent of the laws of disclosure.

•             Monitor investor sentiment and listen to feedback.

•             Monitor your competition and their investors.

•             Never deliver a negative earnings surprise.

•             Do not yearn for another company's P/E ratio.

•             Never, ever hype.

By adhering to these practices, most IR calamities can be avoided. Nevertheless, the unforeseeable can, and sometimes does, happen. When, despite your earnest efforts, such an event occurs, CPG can guide you through these potentially troubling moments—rapidly assessing the situation, and recommending and implementing appropriate actions and a consistent message—as we strive for a timely and favorable conclusion. (top)

Investor/Analyst/Media Contact

CPG's managing directors have spent many years acting as spokespersons for public companies in a wide variety of industries. Oftentimes investors, analysts, and media personnel prefer to have a reliable independent source who is easily accessible. Moreover, CPG's clients benefit from having a CFA Charterholder available to act as a company contact for the financial community when needed. (top)

Distribution List Maintenance

CPG handles all day-to-day fax and e-mail distribution list maintenance. We have developed efficient methods to ensure accuracy and we audit all updates and changes. Moreover, management has access to up-to-the-minute list changes. Additionally, we monitor all fax and e-mail distribution lists during the issuance of company news to ensure timely receipt. (top)

Investor Presentations

We will assist in developing a compelling PowerPoint investor presentation that clearly conveys your organization's business plan for enhancing shareholder value. Following meetings and presentations, CPG contacts audience members for feedback, which we relay to management and use to continually improve or refine the presentation. CPG can also print, bind, and manage the delivery of investor handouts, freeing management to focus on delivering a persuasive message to the audience. (top)

Conference Call and Webcasting

CPG will coordinate all of the arrangements with your provider of choice, or recommend reliable and cost-effective vendors from conference call service providers to webcast hardware and Internet streaming providers. Our service includes writing or editing scripts, preparing management for probable questions that may arise during the call and rehearsing appropriate responses, drafting and properly disseminating invitations ensuring Regulation FD compliance, reading safe-harbor disclosures, and performing proper introductions so management can begin the call comfortably. (top)

No-Cost E-mail and Fax Distribution

Via our unique technology platform, CPG will disseminate all e-mails and faxes of press releases to the client's distribution list at no additional charge. Unlike those from other services, CPG-prepared press releases always will be conveniently formatted for immediate printing, and contain your company logo and an embedded stock quote. A survey to monitor investor sentiment is included to ensure that your message is being communicated effectively. As part of its distribution-list maintenance service, CPG also will manage address changes and monitor receipt, making follow-up contact when necessary. CPG will substantially increase the number of investors receiving your company's news. Anyone viewing your news release anywhere on the Internet can opt-in to your distribution system with a simple click on an embedded link. ClearSite also will enable convenient one-click opt-in for everyone who visits your corporate website. (top)

Executive Speech Writing

CPG develops, writes and edits conference call scripts and IR-related management speeches. This also includes scripts or outlines to accompany investor presentations, annual meetings, and other similar speaking engagements of senior management. (top)

Shareholder Services

By providing attentive and helpful service to shareholders via the supply of investor packets and prompt answers to questions, as well as attending to transfer agent matters like lost certificates and changes of address, CPG relieves clients of many cumbersome burdens, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their business. CPG diligently logs and follows up on all requests from shareholders to ensure they have received information in a timely manner. Additionally, we determine if they would like to be added to one of the company's distribution lists. CPG also qualifies all investors making requests to ascertain if it would be an efficient use of management's time to meet with those individuals in the future. (top)

EDGAR Filing Services

When CPG issues a press release on behalf of a client—in addition to disseminating the release through the wire service, uploading it to the client's website, and monitoring the distribution and ensuring receipt—it can also file with the SEC the associated Form 8-K containing the release. Many financial publishers and other service providers charge hefty sums for this service, which we believe should be part of a truly seamless and timely protocol, exemplifying contemporary best practices in investor relations. (top)

Mail Fulfillment

          CPG expedites delivery of investor materials, including investor packets, E-Proxies, and other requests

          on the same day that they are received. All requests and subsequent fulfillment are recorded, logged,

          and archived. (top)