The Shareholder Rights Directive is caught in uncertainty, according to proxy adviser Manifest commenting on the outcome of the UK’s referendum on European Union membership.

A statement on the adviser’s website added that the UK would now have to adapt its approach to lobbying for its preferred governance measures.

Manifest’s chief executive Sarah Wilson said: “The UK investment market is a focus for global asset management and the need for efficient cross-border investing and voting is as important in the coming years as it ever has been.

“The UK has been at the forefront of negotiations on behalf of savers and investors to protect their rights. That’s not going to change any time soon. It may be more complicated than before but given that the US has been effectively lobbying the EU for many years to further its interests, the UK is now just going to have to adapt its approach and live with the new status quo.”

Manifest added that the UK had clashed in the past with other EU states where a “stakeholder” approach to governance is preferred.

“The UK is actively engaged with the UN, OECD and a raft of supranational bodies which are very often the key drivers of initiatives which find their way into our national legislation,” added Wilson.

“Until the full terms of the Brexit deal are negotiated and confirmed, the ESG community in the UK and Europe has an outstanding opportunity to show that shared principles and beliefs transcend political treaties. Certainly Manifest will continue to press for improved cross-border voting rights on a global stage, not just within the EU.”