FRC adds 43 firms to UK stewardship code

September 9, 2022

Several pension schemes and asset managers have signed up.

The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has added 43 new signatories to its stewardship code.

This takes the total number of the code’s signatories to 236, between them accounting for total assets under management of £40.7trn.

These latest 43 signatories accounted for £7.4trn of that, alone.

This includes the FTSE 100-listed St. James’s Place, as well as major asset managers JP Morgan Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments and Allianz Global Investors.

Several pension schemes have also signed up, including the Essex Pension Fund, HSBC Bank UK Pension Scheme, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee, and London Borough of Hillingdon Pension Fund.

The code sets standards for UK investment firms to meet.

Read Minerva's previous coverage on the FRC:

https://www.old.manifest.co.uk/frc-publishes-esg-data-production-framework/

“I congratulate the new and returning signatories to the UK stewardship code,” said Mark Babington, executive director of regulatory standards at the FRC.

“It’s also great to see improvements in how organisations are evidencing their stewardship each year and more tailored explanations on how they apply the code to demonstrate their stewardship activity and outcomes effectively.”

The FRC is now using feedback from signatories to improve reporting standards required of the code and aligning these with similar standards around the world.

In July 2022, the FRC published its first report on the code and gave an update on its impact.

Overall, it found asset managers and asset owners were positive about the impact the code was having, providing greater support for engagement practices.

In this assessment report of the code – introduced in 2021 – the FRC also confirmed it will soon be carrying out a review of the regulatory framework for effective stewardship.

This will commence in 2023.

Later in 2022, the FRC will engage with asset owners and investment consultants to understand how they use asset managers’ stewardship reporting for both decision-making and monitoring.