NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 26, 2009) - San Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo took home the most awards last night at the 14th annual IR Magazine US Awards. In addition to the grand prix for best overall investor relations for a mega-cap company, Wells Fargo picked up awards for best investor relations officer (Bob Strickland), best corporate governance, best communications with the retail market, and best M&A investor relations.

"The financial crisis has put companies in Darwin mode. According to analysts and investors hunting for transparency and trust, Wells Fargo is the king of the jungle," said Neil Stewart, executive editor of "IR magazine."

The rest of the awards were spread among companies such as Texas Instruments, Humana, First Horizon National Corp and Continental Airlines.

The winners were announced at a ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street last night. This year, a donation of 5 percent of ticket sales was given to the Coalition for the Homeless. Founded in 1981, the Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping homeless men, women and children, and working to end mass homelessness in New York City.

The event was hosted in association with "Barron's" and was co-sponsored by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the Bank of New York Mellon, Business Wire, Chorus Call, Deutsche Bank ADR Group, the "Financial Times," GE, Georgeson, GlobeNewswire, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, "Institutional Investor," Ipreo, Kreab Gavin Anderson, Laurel Hill Advisory Group, MacKenzie Partners, Marketwire, NASDAQ OMX, National Investor Relations Institute, NYSE Euronext, PR Newswire, Shareholder.com and Verizon Business.

A full list of this year's nominees is available below, or on our website at www.irmagazineus.com.

Methodology

An independent survey of investors and analysts identified the best practitioners of investor relations in categories such as best crisis communications, best IR by a chairman/CEO and best IR by an Asia-Pacific company in the US market. Research firm Erdos & Morgan used databases from Thomson Reuters and Ipreo to invite the full universe of US investment professionals to participate in an online survey between November 2008 and January 2009.

For best communications with the retail market, Barron's Online subscribers and BetterInvesting members completed a separate online survey. In all, 1,392 portfolio managers and analysts and 1,346 retail investors voted. The complete results of the survey will be published in "IR magazine's" forthcoming "Investor Perception Study, US 2009."

The "IR magazine" investor perception studies together make up the world's largest survey of this kind, canvassing over 5,000 analysts and investors in more than 10 countries and regions each year. Survey respondents nominate companies in specific categories and offer their opinions on IR-related topics and trends. For more information on the study, please contact Kate Giblin at the number listed at the bottom of this release.

About Cross Border Ltd and "IR magazine"

Cross Border Ltd is the publisher in New York and London of "IR magazine," the only global publication focused on the interface between companies and their investors. "IR magazine" hosts annual awards ceremonies in the US, Europe, Canada, the Nordic region, Asia and Brazil, with a combined annual attendance of around 8,000 investor relations professionals. Visit www.thecrossbordergroup.com for more details.

Full list of nominees

Grand prix for best overall investor relations
Mega-cap*
Wells Fargo

Large cap*
Texas Instruments

Mid-cap*
Humana

Small cap*
First Horizon National Corporation

Best investor relations officer
Mega-cap*
Bob Strickland, Wells Fargo

Large cap*
Dave Pahl & Ron Slaymaker, Texas Instruments

Mid-cap*
Regina Nethery, Humana

Small cap*
David Miller, First Horizon National Corporation

*Market-cap ranges are based on market capitalization as of December 31,
2008 and are divided as follows for the grand prix for best overall
investor relations and the best investor relations officer awards:
Mega-cap - over $30 bn
Large cap - $10 bn-$30 bn
Mid-cap - $2.5 bn-$9.9 bn
Small cap - under $2.5 bn

Best investor relations by a chairman or CEO
Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil

Best corporate governance
Wells Fargo

Best annual report
Microsoft Corp and The Walt Disney Company (tie)

Best investor relations website
Aflac and JPMorgan Chase & Co (tie)

Best crisis communications
Goldman Sachs & Co

Most progress in investor relations
Special award for small to mid-cap companies (under $5 bn)
HealthSouth

Best use of conferencing
Special award for small to mid-cap companies (under $5 bn)
Continental Airlines

Best corporate advertising
Charles Schwab

Best communications with the retail market
Wells Fargo

Best investor relations by a continental European company in the US market
Nokia

Best investor relations by an Asia-Pacific company in the US market
Sony Corporation

Best M&A investor relations
Wells Fargo and Wachovia

Lifetime achievement in investor relations
Marty Shea