Investors are making increasing demands on top companies for further disclosure and if the pressure is maintained, they can expect to have access to more detailed information in the future. A new report compiled by the 25 biggest fund managers in Europe and the US has shown that investors are unhappy with the quality of corporate information on a range of issues which they consider crucial to their investment decisions.

The report, produced by Shelley Taylor & Associates, covers 200 of the biggest companies on both sides of the Atlantic including Volkswagen, Nestle, Glaxo Wellcome, General Electric, PepsiCo and Nike.

The report added that voluntary disclosure of qualitative information helped company share prices trade on a premium. But the report found a number of key investor issues were sketchily covered in company reports.

These included details on preparations for the year 2000, intellectual assets including employee expertise and technology, research and development spending, and detailed breakdowns of management responsibility.