The vast majority of the UK’s institutional investors are in compliance with the Financial Reporting Council’s Stewardship Code, according to new research from the Investment Management Association.

In its Adherence to the FRC’s Stewardship Code report, which covers the period up to 30 September 2010, the IMA found that 1,300 people are employed to focus on stewardship activities across 43 of the 50 organisations included.

The survey also showed that over 90 per cent of institutional investors now use all or the majority of their voting rights, and almost two-thirds publish their voting records. At the time the survey was conducted 43 of the firms had issued a statement on compliance with the code, and another six did so later.

“The final report not only demonstrates that investors are transparent in their engagement activities, but also shows the extent of their influence over companies,” said Liz Murrall, director of corporate governance and reporting at the IMA, and the author of the report.

Concerns over the ESG (environmental, social and governance) records of companies have come to the fore in recent years amid environmental disasters such as the BP oil spill and public scrutiny of the earnings of underperforming chief executives, for example. The increasing consensus is that companies with good ESG records might not just be the more ethical choice, but that they might also represent less risky investments long term.

The IMA’s survey was the first conducted since the FRC released its Stewardship Code in July of last year. Some 80 firms had adopted the stewardship code by 26 November 2010, which increased to 161 firms as at 19 May 2011, of which 124 were asset managers, 26 were asset owners and 11 were service providers.