Financial Times: UK stewardship code in line for significant overhaul

05 January 2019

The UK stewardship code, which dictates how fund managers hold to account the companies in which they invest, may be abolished if a planned reform is insufficiently far-reaching. The FRC is looking to overhaul the code with a consultation expected to open on January 30.

But buried in a government-sanctioned report on the future of the FRC is a warning that the code could be scrapped if the reform is not radical.

The FRC consultation will be held at the same time as discussions on the EU’s shareholder rights directive II, which is due to be implemented in June.

The new directive should be seen as a minimum requirement for investors to follow, said Paul Lee, an adviser at the ICGN, a global investor group whose members manage $34tn. He said: “This is an opportunity for the stewardship code to set a higher hurdle that not everyone is going to be able to leap over.”

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