The Financial Reporting Council has published a list of successful signatories to the UK Stewardship Code.

The code sets standards of stewardship for those investing money on behalf of UK investors. The FRC says the successful applicants, which include asset managers and asset owners, better demonstrated their commitment to stewardship…as we emerge from the pandemic and address significant environmental and social challenges by investing for a sustainable future.

Following a review process which considered organisations’ investment styles, sizes and types, two-thirds of all applications (125) made the list. This represents £20 trillion of assets under management. The FRC received 189 applications from 147 asset managers, 28 asset owners, including pension funds and insurers, and 14 service providers, including data and information providers and investment consultants.

The organisations that did not make the list commonly did not address all the Principles or sufficiently evidence their approach, instead relying too heavily on policy statements. Other areas of weakness included reporting on the approaches to review and assurance, and monitoring service providers. We would also like to see more focus on identifying areas for improvement.

Sir Jon Thompson, FRC CEO, said: “Congratulations to all those who have become signatories to the UK Stewardship Code, which is recognised globally as a best-practice benchmark in investment stewardship. The publication of this list delivers on the recommendations of The Kingman Review in respect of stewardship and demonstrates our continued commitment to serve the public interest as we transform to becoming a new regulator. We are proud of our robust approach to assessment and encourage those who have been unsuccessful to reflect on our feedback and apply again in future.”