Following the review process considering organisations’ investment styles, sizes and types, 43 new signatories were added, taking the total number of signatories to 236, with assets under management (AUM) of £40.7 trillion, up from £33.3tn. Some of the notable additions include J.P. Morgan Asset Management, NatWest Group Pension Fund, BNP Paribas Asset Management, and Allianz Global Investors.

The code sets high standards of stewardship for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners, and the continued growth in the number of applicants and successful signatories shows the value that investors and their clients and beneficiaries in the UK and beyond give to the code. This supports the findings of the FRC’s recent report on the impact of the code on the stewardship practice of asset managers and owners.

The FRC saw improvements in several areas, such as the quality of activity and outcome reporting for engagement, collaboration and escalation; contributions to addressing market-wide and systemic risks and improving the functioning of the financial markets; and reporting on how signatories monitor and hold to account third parties, such as asset managers and service providers.

However, there still needs to be greater emphasis by signatories on reporting their activities and outcomes during the reporting period, using both quantitative and qualitative evidence, as the FRC will increase focus on this area in future assessment updates.

Mark Babington, executive director of regulatory standards, said: “I congratulate the new and returning signatories to the UK Stewardship Code.

“It’s also great to see improvements in how organisations are evidencing their stewardship each year and more tailored explanations on how they apply the Code to demonstrate their stewardship activity and outcomes effectively.

“Using our feedback to provide clear, comprehensive and outcome-based reporting is what the spirit of the Code is all about and why it is considered the gold standard for stewardship across the globe.”