Some three quarters of companies targeted by 21 signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment, a global body of investors, found that firms improved their disclosure and understanding of anti-corruption risk management, a statement on behalf of the investors, including firms such as Hermes and F&C Asset Management, said yesterday.

The investor group collectively manages more than $1.7 trillion in assets; it began to engage with 21 companies across 14 countries in March 2010 to encourage them to demonstrate that they had appropriate anti-corruption controls.

The wealth management industry, like other sectors, has come under growing pressure to tighten controls against corruption. In the UK, for example, the recently enacted Bribery Act imposes tougher – although not always clearly understood – rules on corporate and individual behaviour.

The statement from the investment group said it encouraged firms to report on their anti-corruption risk management that fit with international standards, such as the International Corporate Governance Network’s Statement and Guidance on Anti-Corruption Practices and the UN Global Compact’s Reporting Guidance on the 10th Principle Against Corruption.

Each of the 21 companies were selected because of their “poor public disclosure of anti-corruption risk management and high levels of corruption risk because of the nature of their businesses”, the statement said.

Methodology developed by Transparency International, called Transparency in Reporting on Anti-Corruption, was used to assess companies against 50 indicators relating to their anti-corruption strategy, policy and management systems.