FRC to review UK Stewardship Code

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has signalled its intention to review the UK Stewardship Code 2020. The purpose of the review is to understand whether the Code is driving better stewardship outcomes, without contributing unduly to reporting burdens.

In particular, the review will focus on the extent to which the Code:

·        Supports long term value creation through appropriate investor-issuer engagement that drives issuers’ prospects and performance;

·        Creates reporting burdens on issuers as well as Code signatories; and

·        Has led to any unintended consequences, such as short-termism in targets and outlook for issuers.

The review will include targeted outreach to issuers, asset managers, asset owners and service providers covering the 3 focus areas (above) and a public consultation following the 2024 AGM voting season.

The revised Code will be most published in early 2025.