The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a new UK Stewardship Code which is due to come into effect on 1 January 2020.
The revised Code has set a higher standard for how money is invested on behalf of UK savers and pensioners that the FRC said reflects “the changing expectations of investors and the significant developments in sustainable and responsible investment and stewardship since the Code was last revised in 2012”.
The new Code has an extended focus that includes asset owners, such as pension funds and insurance companies, and service providers in addition to asset managers.
The FRC has also set out a new requirement to report annually on stewardship activity and its outcomes, while signatories of the revised Code will be expected to take environmental, social and governance factors, including climate change, into account.
Signatories will have to explain how they have exercised stewardship across asset classes and in investments outside the UK.
