Eighteen new pension firms sign up to UK Stewardship code

The Financial Reporting Council published on March 10 an updated list of the signatories, with 74 out of 105 applications being successful and which are now complying with high standards of stewardship for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners.

The regulator said the number of applicants, who submitted their report at the end of October 2021, was “substantially more than expected”.

The new update, which includes names such as the Avon Pension Fund, Local Pensions Partnership Investments and Isio, takes the number of signatories to 199 and includes asset managers with £33tn in global assets under management.

The FRC stated that there was an encouraging level of applications from organisations that were previously unsuccessful.

In October, Pensions Expert reported that more than 60 applicants to the revamped UK Stewardship Code did not make the final list of companies.

The watchdog added that many companies “addressed the feedback given by the FRC and have provided better quality reporting of their stewardship activities”.

In November 2021, the FRC published a document with guidance on good practice reporting, which it encourages all signatories and applicants to read, that includes “information on how to improve critical areas of reporting, including reporting on market-wide and systemic risks, non-listed equity, outcomes and engagement”.  Mark Babington, executive director of regulatory standards at the FRC, said: “We are pleased that many previously unsuccessful organisations have provided stronger and better tailored explanations on how they apply the code to more effectively demonstrate their stewardship activity and outcomes.

“We commend those that have embraced the spirit of the code and responded to our feedback by substantially reviewing their approach to provide clear, comprehensive and outcome-based reporting.”

Rod Goodyer, partner and head of investment consulting at Barnett Waddingham, noted that while meeting the stewardship standards has been a goal for the company, “becoming a signatory is not the end of the story”.

“It is the beginning. This was not a tick-box exercise. There’s still work to be done as we continue to focus on building a sustainable business for now and for the longer term,” he said.

“The expectation is that each year the bar will be raised higher in order to continue to be a signatory. We pledge to continue to support our clients’ stewardship and develop our own approach in 2022.”

The next deadline for submitting annual stewardship reports and any new applications is April 30.