"Although companies may be tempted to withdraw from shareholders during tough times, the best IR teams in the U.S. are actively engaging with their investors," said Tom Buerkle, Institutional Investor's Executive Editor. "Now more than ever, shareholders are looking for clear, up-to-date information from corporate executives."

Both the buy side and sell side agree that the quality and transparency of companies' financial reporting and disclosure are paramount, but there are differences too. Buy-siders -- with whom IR professionals concentrate much of their efforts -- care most about the quality and depth of the answers to their inquiries, while sell-siders want increased access to senior management.

Institutional Investor's IR rankings are an excerpt from an annual review of U.S. equities that analyzes key market trends, with detailed rankings of "best practices" across several key criteria used to measure the effectiveness of a company's communications. The magazine also identifies the leading CEOs, CFOs, and IR professionals who are considered the most effective in meeting the information needs of the investment community. With impressive participation and a consistent methodology, Institutional Investor research provides a reliable benchmark by which companies can assess changes in perception over time. For a more detailed look at the survey, including its methodology, please visit www.iimagazine.com.

The Leading Companies for Investor Relations in the U.S.

To determine the leading companies for investor relations in the U.S., Institutional Investor surveyed two distinct audiences: 1) Sell-side analysts; and 2) buy-side analysts and portfolio managers. This year's rankings were based on the opinions of 417 sell-side analysts and 656 buy-side individuals. Individuals were asked to nominate up to four companies for each attribute used to evaluate the effectiveness of investor relations communications -- six for the buy side and 15 for the sell side. They were also asked to nominate companies with the most improved IR communications over the past year. All voting was conducted on an unprompted basis.

 America's Best Investor Relations by Industry Sector Sector                  Sell side                Buy side ----------------------  -----------------------  ------------------------- Chemicals               Ecolab                   Praxair Metals & Mining         Peabody Energy Corp.     Consol Energy Paper & Packaging       International Paper Co.