The Financial Reporting Council’s ambitious UK Stewardship Code 2020, effective 1 January 2020, required a new mandatory annual Stewardship Report to be published. This is challenging for investors as it requires reporting on stewardship activities actually undertaken and the outcomes actually achieved, not just stating intent or policy.
Some institutions have already reported early and the FRC has published a report, “Review of Early Reporting”, which scrutinises those reports and concludes that whilst there are some early good examples of reporting, more needs to be done.
Set that in the context of growing societal expectations and regulatory demands that investors be engaged stewards of the assets entrusted to their care, and that environmental, social and governance issues, including climate change, are included in their stewardship and investment decision making. It is clear that in relation to all things ESG (including remuneration) related, investors will increasingly engage more actively when challenging the companies they invest in as they will need to be able to report on specific behaviours with practical examples to evidence their compliance with the Stewardship Code.