Shareholders to get FRC best practice guide

The Financial Reporting Council, the body that regulates corporate governance, will today publish its first Stewardship Code for institutional shareholders, which is designed to improve the relationship between company owners and management.

"We hope this new Code will be a catalyst for better engagement between shareholders and companies and create a stronger link between governance and the investment process," Baroness Hogg, the chairman of the FRC, said.

As well as seeking better co-operation between companies and their owners, the new code will also promote greater transparency in the way investors manage their stakes.

The CBI welcomed the new code. The group said that it would encourage investors to be responsible owners.