CELEBRATING THE BEST IN MUNILAND
BondLink's Second-Annual Investor Relations Awards are a celebration of public finance professionals across the country leveraging the latest technology to power their transparency.
The past years have revealed just how important it is for issuers to have a direct connection to the market - to communicate their complete credit story, make the buy-side fully aware of their offerings, and to ultimately navigate turbulent, unpredictable conditions.
We’re now honoring leadership undertaken by organizations and individuals who are engaging investors throughout the year and at the time of sales. Nominations should include those who embraced and managed an element of innovation in the process of creating their Investor Relations programs, all while staying tech- and data-driven in the face of uncertainty.
ABOUT THE AWARDS
Municipalities will be recognized within three distinct categories: Best Investor Relations (IR) Website, Most Significant Digital Transformation, and Excellence in Transparency.
Issuers of varying sizes within all states and sectors play a critical role in our society, and we wanted to ensure that participants across the spectrum were awarded. Within each category, we separately evaluate larger or more frequent issuers and those who issue debt less often.
Additionally, one individual will be recognized for their contributions to advancing the concept of investor engagement and externally promoting the virtues of greater transparency.
We received an amazing amount of diverse nominations for the awards in 2022, and look forward to reviewing a similarly competitive pool for 2023.
Best Investor Relations Website
The IR website is the first point of contact between a muni bond issuer and the market. These issuers leveraged this communication tool most effectively to provide frequent, timely financial updates to investors.
Digital Transformation
Bond investors live online to complete their credit evaluation work, so it's critical for issuers to meet them using digital channels. We found issuers who recognized the importance of that and transformed their organization’s digital presence from one that was either non-existent or weak, to one that's strong and valuable to credit analysts.
ESG Reporting Honors
Issuers now face growing demands to inform investors about the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) risk and opportunities they face. Many BondLink clients have standalone pages dedicated to these credit factors, green bonds, and similar information. As this is a particularly new & developing space, we wanted to honor a selection of issuers exceeding the demands of credit analysts looking for substance in ESG reporting.
Excellence in Transparency
This award will be given to issuers who've clearly demonstrated that they can deliver the highest level of financial transparency to the municipal market. This includes the quantity and quality of the materials they provide to investors both ahead of bond sales and on a regular, ongoing basis.
Advancement in Investor Relations
This was awarded to an individual capital manager who's an IR leader in the municipal bond market. This includes embracing technology to raise awareness to investors of an upcoming bond sale and actively using their IR website and social media, plus advocating for stronger engagement between issuers and investors, more transparency across the market, and the adoption of more technology.
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NOMINATIONS NOW CLOSED
Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations. These awards aren't be possible without you!
CHECK OUT LAST YEAR'S WINNERS
BEST INVESTOR RELATIONS WEBSITE
State of California
New Mexico Finance Authority
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Texas Water Development Board
Minnesota Higher Education Facilities Authority
ADVANCEMENT IN INVESTOR RELATIONS
Darryl Street, Associate Treasurer, Debt & Grants Management
District of Columbia
ESG REPORTING HONORS
WMATA
City of Saint Paul, MN
Citizens Energy Group
Connecticut Green Bank
.png?width=200&height=200&name=John%20Hallacy%20Headshot%20(Client%20Awards%202022%20Judge).png "John Hallacy Headshot (Client Awards 2022 Judge)")
“It is not always easy to unearth valuable information about Issuers. It is great when with a few keystrokes you can obtain such granular information. We applaud these issuers for a job well done and sincerely hope that others will follow suit. The access provided makes the evaluators jobs much easier to be fair and complete.”
- John Hallacy, formerly The Bond Buyer
“We are extremely honored to receive this award in recognition of our efforts to strengthen the Texas Water Development Board’s investor relations digital presence. It is our goal to make the story of Texas water easily accessible and available to investors, who are key contributors in our mission to ensure a secure water future for Texas and its citizens.”
- Rebecca Trevino, Chief Financial Officer, TWDB
ESG Reporting Honors
“I am extremely honored to receive this recognition. However, I accept this award on behalf of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) of the District of Columbia. This is a collective effort of the OCFO, and certainly not that of just one person. The District has always prioritized transparency and access to useful financial information. Under the leadership of CFO Glen Lee, the OCFO continues to improve our investor relations outreach. We strive to be completely transparent with investors, rating agencies and the public at large.”
- Darryl Street, Associate Treasurer, Debt & Grants Management
Issuers now face growing demands to inform investors about the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) risk and opportunities they face. Many BondLink clients have standalone pages dedicated to these credit factors, green bonds, and similar information. As this is a particularly new & developing space, we wanted to honor a selection of issuers exceeding the demands of credit analysts looking for substance in ESG reporting.
Issuers now face growing demands to inform investors about the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) risk and opportunities they face. Many BondLink clients have standalone pages dedicated to these credit factors, green bonds, and similar information. As this is a particularly new & developing space, we wanted to honor a selection of issuers exceeding the demands of credit analysts looking for substance in ESG reporting.
“California’s investor relations website is the gold standard among municipal issuers befitting its status as the nation's largest issuer. Having all this credit information in one place saves credit analyst time and provides confidence that we are not missing anything. The effort to create and maintain this robust investor relations website clearly indicates that California highly values its investor base.”
- Paul Mansour, Formerly Head of Municipal Research, Conning
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Paul%20Mansour%20Headshot%20(Client%20Awards%20Judge).png "Paul Mansour Headshot (Client Awards Judge)")
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Barry%20Fick%20(1).png "Barry Fick (1)")
"The Minnesota Higher Ed Authority believes that borrowers should communicate clearly with investors. Better communication helps build trust and enhances the ability of the borrower to receive the best possible rates and terms on their financings through the Authority. Our assistance to borrowers extends to providing borrower financial information on the Authority's website, providing a full range of information investors are looking for, all in an easily navigated system."
- Barry Fick, Executive Director, Minnesota Higher Education Facilities Authority
ESG Reporting Honors
Issuers now face growing demands to inform investors about the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) risk and opportunities they face. Many BondLink clients have standalone pages dedicated to these credit factors, green bonds, and similar information. As this is a particularly new & developing space, we wanted to honor a selection of issuers exceeding the demands of credit analysts looking for substance in ESG reporting.
MEET LAST YEAR'S ALL-STAR JUDGES
Paul Mansour
Formerly Head of Municipal Research, Conning
John Hallacy
President; John Hallacy Consulting LLC
Formerly Director for Municipals & Commentator, The Bond Buyer-Arizent
Susan Gaffney
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Susan%20Gaffney%20Headshot%20(Client%20Awards%202022%20Judge).png "Susan Gaffney Headshot (Client Awards 2022 Judge)")
President, SG & Associates
Guy Davidson
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Guy%20Davidson%20Headshot%20(Client%20Awards%202022%20Judge).png "Guy Davidson Headshot (Client Awards 2022 Judge)")
Formerly Partner & Senior VP, Municipals, Alliance Bernstein
Mary Colby
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Mary%20Culby%20Headshot%20(Client%20Awards%202022%20Judge).png "Mary Culby Headshot (Client Awards 2022 Judge)")
East Bay Agency for Children
Formerly Head of Municipal Research, Charles Schwab
2023 judging panel will be announced soon!
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We’re very grateful to the MuniLand network for your previous nominations, and to our experienced panel of judges for their time and support in selecting the 2022 winners from such an outstanding pool of nominees.