European Fund Classification

The European Fund Classification

EFC Categories
5th edition

5
ar y 202
Janu

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EFAMA is the voice of the European investment management industry
Through our 28 national associations and 58 corporate members, we represent the rich diversity
of market participants that characterises the European management industry. This sets us apart
and makes us the natural interlocutors of European policy makers.

EFAMA’s purpose is to:

• promote optimal conditions for the European fund and asset management industry in its
efforts to create value for investors;

• influence and support the ongoing development of the regulatory environment including
the European Single Market;

• promote the interests of its Members among stakeholders;

• build confidence and trust in the industry;

• promote scientific research concerning the industry.

To that effect, we carry out activities such as:

• building confidence and trust in the industry by supporting the development of, and
adherence to, high professional standards which recognise the interests of investors;

• providing an effective voice for the industry by developing and maintaining a strong
reputation and relationships with key stakeholders;

• promoting the professional interests of members and providing services to enable

members to contribute to, and benefit from, the Association’s work;

• promoting the realisation of an effective European Single Market through engagement with
the relevant EU institutions and national authorities;

• representing the industry in European and international policy and regulatory discussions;

• promoting and conducting research and data collection concerning the industry and act as
a trusted source of data;

• disseminating information and issuing publications;

• organising conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. at international and national levels.

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Preface

Since the first edition of the brochure ‘The European Fund Classification – EFC Categories’ was
published more than 10 years ago, the fund industry has had to adapt significantly in response to
the evolving market environment. New global and regional regulations have been implemented in the
interest of investor protection, and fund houses created, developed and launched new types of funds.

To match these trends, the EFC brochure has been periodically updated, ensuring that the EFC
categories conform to the latest evolutions in the fund market.

The main advantages of the EFC, however, remain unchanged. In a nutshell, the EFC is the only
classification method that:
• Uses a proven, stable holdings-based classification method;
• Is reviewed on a quarterly basis to fully reflect ongoing fund repositioning activities; and
• is free-of-charge and non-commercial.

Equally noteworthy, this is a classification whereby the results are:

• Retrievable via https://www.efama.org/SitePages/EFCF.aspx;
• Fully owned by the promoting fund house; and
• Reviewed each quarter between the classifier and the fund houses.

I am grateful to all those involved in updating the EFC brochure. My special thanks go to the EFAMA
staff in Brussels for their expert input, and to FE fundinfo for its role as Classification Administrator
for the EFC. Lastly, I want to thank all my fund industry colleagues and association representatives
who are members of the European Fund Categorisation Forum (EFCF) for their professional and in-
depth contributions.

Miranda Seath
Chairman of EFAMA EFC Task Force
Director of Market Insight and Fund Sectors

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Table of Contents

Preface 2

Table of Contents 3

1. Introduction 4

2. Background 5

3. Overview of the European Fund Classification 6

4. EFC Categories 8

4.1 Equity Fund Categories 8

4.2 Bond Fund Categories 14

4.2.1 General Bond Fund Categories 14
4.2.2 Emerging Market Bond Fund Categories 21
4.2.3 Floating Rate Fund Categories 23
4.2.4 Inflation Linked Bond Fund Categories 23
4.2.5 Flexible Bond Fund Category 24
4.2.6 Ultra Short Bond Fund Categories 24
4.2.7 Mortgage-backed Bond Fund Categories 24

4.3 Multi-Asset Fund Categories 25

4.4 Money Market Fund Categories 31

4.5 ARIS Categories 33

4.6 Other Categories 36

Appendix 1: List and Composition of EFC Regions 38

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1. Introduction
The European Fund Classification (EFC) is a pan-European classification system of investment
funds which has been developed by the European Fund Categorisation Forum (EFCF) – a dedicated
Task Force of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).

The EFC has created a single transparent pan-European methodology for comparing funds.
Thanks to this categorisation investors know what they can expect when they invest in an EFC-
compliant fund.

A pan-European classification structure has never been more important. UCITS are recognized
worldwide as highly regulated and transparent investment products, suited for retail and
institutional investors alike. Also non-UCITS, Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), are increasingly
sold across borders. Every effort that can be made to reinforce this core benefit of easy
comparability will further strengthen the industry in its positioning within the savings arena.

The EFC system is different for the following reasons:

1. It is owned and managed by the whole industry without being altered by any particular singular
commercial interest.
2. It involves regular monitoring of holdings/exposures by a neutral classification administrator
to ensure that funds do not drift from their stated objectives.
3. It is built on well-defined criteria that permit simple comparison of like for like funds and
ensures transparency for investors and fund management companies.

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2. Background
The EFCF was formed in 2012 by a group of fund management companies and data vendors
for the specific purpose of defining the parameters for a pan-European classification system of
investment funds.

By agreeing to work together, these firms recognised that they had a common goal – increasing
transparency in fund comparison within a classification system that could be endorsed by a core
group of cross-border firms and data vendors. By pooling their expertise, the EFCF members could
reach mutual understanding of the difficulties involved in fund categorization and accelerate the
convergence towards a common European standard.

This important goal convinced the EFCF to join forces with EFAMA to facilitate broad acceptance
of the EFC across Europe.

The hiring of a classification administrator (CA) was another central decision in the activities of
the EFCF. The CA collects and reviews the portfolio holdings of every fund management company
interested in adopting the classification, and monitors, regularly and free of charge, individual fund
adherence to the classification criteria. FE fundinfo has been hired as CA for the classification
of all sectors.

EFAMA and the CA publish on their websites the classification results using the EFC categories
as defined in this report. Changes in the classification for the fund groups are reported on a
continuous basis. Holdings/exposures verification is performed, and made available, on a
quarterly basis. The classification results are provided online in Excel spreadsheets which allow
each individual user to regroup funds according to different combinations of criteria from those
used in the EFC categories. For professional use a subscription for automatic data feeds in CSV
is available.

In 2018 the concept of an indicative classification was introduced after the CA had tested this
concept for a period. The indicative classification serves as a preliminary step towards a verified
classification and a way to allow for a broader coverage for the users of the classification. The
indicative classification is not monitored as closely as the verified classification and is published
without seeking the agreement of the fund companies concerned. The indicative classification is
also made by the CA (FE fundinfo).

At the end of 2024, the verified classification covered 7,655 funds incorporating 61,547 share
classes, which were managed by more than 1,000 fund groups. At the same time, the indicative
classification covered 31,245 funds incorporating 180,578 share classes.1

1
The latest figures are published on https://www.efama.org/SitePages/EFCF.aspx. 5
3. Overview of the European Fund Classification
The general rule applying to the classification structure is that a fund can only be classified into
one category according to the assets in which the fund invests.

As a result the EFC investment fund universe is split into 6 main, high-level categories: Equity,
Bond, Multi-asset, Money market, “Absolute Return Innovative Strategies” (ARIS) and Other.

The term “fund” covers all types of funds, including all funds classified according to the EU
UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) Directive and AIFM
(Alternative Investment Fund Managers) Directive. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are also
included and are classified the same way as conventional funds.

General bond

Equity
Emerging Market

Bond Floating Rate

Inflation Linked
Multi-
Asset
Main Flexible
Categories
Money
Market

ARIS

Other

The EFC universe of equity, bond, multi-asset and money market funds is then further segmented
according to nine criteria: country/region, sector, market capitalisation, currency exposure,
credit quality, interest rate exposure, emerging market exposure, asset allocation and additional
categorisation elements.

Additional categorisation elements or structural characteristics refer to features characterising

funds. To avoid extending excessively the range of potential fund categories and overcome
difficulties in defining these features precisely, fund providers signal these characteristics at their
discretion and the CA flags these elements separately in the presentation of the classification
results.

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1. Information related to ESG, and specifically to Article 8 and 9 of the EU’s Sustainable
Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is included as a flag within the additional
categorisation elements in the following way:
• ESG Characteristics: Funds having ESG Characteristics (corresponding to SFDR
Article 8 funds)
• Sustainable Objectives: Funds having Sustainable Objectives (corresponding to
SFDR Article 9 funds)
• Neutral: The product has no preferences to Article 8 or 9
2. The type of EU Directive is flagged within the additional categorisation elements as ‘UCITS’/
‘AIF’/ ‘Other’.
3. ETFs are flagged within the additional categorisation elements. The ETF flag is included as a
simple ‘Yes’/´No´ field.
4. Similarly, the flag for Passive funds is included as ´Yes´/’No’ field.
5. Open-ended Or Closed-ended Fund Structure includes the following values: ´open-ended
fund´/ ´closed-ended fund´

In general equity, bond, multi-asset and money market funds are long-only funds that typically aim
to achieve returns higher than a benchmark index. In contrast, ARIS funds are typically managed
with the objective of generating a positive return over a cash benchmark, irrespective of market
movements. In general, these funds make extensive use of derivatives to short/long securities
or the market as a whole. A number of other funds fall outside these five broad categories due to
their distinct investment strategies.

Asset Class Level

Classification Criteria Equity General Bond Multi-Asset Money Market
Country/Region X X X
Sector X
Market Capitalization X
Currency Exposure X X X
Credit Quality X X
Interest Rate Exposure X X
Emerging Market Exposure X
Asset Allocation X
Additional Categorisation
X X X X
Elements

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4. EFC Categories
4.1 Equity Fund Categories

Funds with more than 85% exposure to equity are classified as equity funds. Equity in this context
should be understood as the shares of companies that are listed on a stock exchange.

Equity funds can be differentiated according to three main classification criteria: Sector,
geographical exposure and market capitalisation. Investment theme is added as a fourth
classification criterion, in parallel with the three main criteria. The graph below illustrates how the
categories for the equity universe have been defined.

Communication Services
Consumer Discretionary
Consumer Staples
Energy
Financials
Sector Health Care
Industrials
Information Technology
Materials
Real Estate
Utilities

Equity
Geographic
Exposure
Market Cap
{ Small Cap

{ Global
Regions
Countries

Technology Physical world

Biotechnology Infrastructure
Medtech Natural resources
Digitalisation Agriculture
Automation Nutrition
Investment Innovation and disruptive
technology Social
Theme Lifestyle
Environmental sustainability Ageing population and
Climate demographics
Water Social - general
Clean energy
Environmental - general Broad thematic
Global trends

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A Sector equity fund invests at least 80% of its assets in companies belonging to a specific
economic sector.

The list of sectors is based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). The sector
exposure covers the 11 GICS sectors: Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary,
Consumer Staples, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials,
Real Estate and Utilities.

All sector equity funds are classified without geographical exposure being a part of their EFC
Category. An equity fund that invests 80% of its assets into a specific sector will always be
classified as a sector fund, regardless of its geographical exposure. The geographical exposure
is however added as a flag to the Classification of sector equity funds.

The Geographical Exposure reflects the country or regional exposure of the fund’s investments.
As a general rule, a “Single Country/Region Fund” must invest at least 80% of its assets in shares
of companies established in the country or region concerned. The domicile of a company is
based on the company’s primary listing or accepted country/region of operations). The list and
composition of regions is provided in Appendix 1. Under certain circumstances, some judgment
must be used to ascertain a company’s domicile, in particular when global firms have a main
exchange on which their stocks are listed, whilst also operating in several main regions/countries.

Market Capitalisation is used to classify equity funds investing at least 80% in small capitalization
stocks. Small Capitalization is defined with the following regional limits: United States US$4bn;
United Kingdom £1bn; Eurozone €3bn; Asia Pacific US$1.5bn; Global US$2.5bn.

Investment Theme is used to classify equity funds investing a large part of their assets in
companies belonging to a specific investment theme.

Unlike for the three other classification criteria, the investment theme of a fund cannot be
verified from the fund portfolio holdings. It is included in the classification results on the basis
of a declaration by the fund group concerned. A fund group can declare whether a fund invests
according to a specific investment theme. This investment theme may then be included into the
classification as a flag. Investment themes are flagged alongside the EFC Categories. A sector or
regional equity fund can thus also have a specified investment theme. Only one investment theme
can be declared per fund.

Investment Themes
1. Biotechnology
2. Medtech
3. Digitalisation
4. Automation
5. Innovation and disruptive technology
6. Climate
7. Water
8. Clean energy
9. Environmental - general
10. Infrastructure
11. Natural resources
12. Agriculture
13. Nutrition
14. Lifestyle
15. Aging population and demographics
16. Social – general
17. Global trends
The number of specific investment themes included in the EFC structure will be updated whenever
deemed necessary.
The tables below show and define categories relating to the equity fund universe.

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HIGH LEVEL EFC EQUITY CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
1 Equity Global
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies established in at least two regions, including at least 20% in
Emerging Markets, without a single country or region focus.
Global
2 Equity Global Advanced Markets
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies established in at least two advanced market regions without a
single country or region focus.
3 Equity Americas
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
Americas of companies established in the Americas.
4 Equity North America
5 Equity Asia Pacific
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
Asia of companies established in Asia Pacific countries.
Pacific
6 Equity Asia Pacific Ex Japan
7 Equity Greater China
8 Equity Europe
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies established in Europe.
9 Equity Advanced Europe
Europe 10 Equity Eurozone
11 Equity Europe Ex UK
Region

12 Equity Nordic
13 Equity Iberia
14 Equity Emerging Market Global
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies from at least two emerging market sub-regions without a single
country or region focus.
15 Equity Emerging Latin America
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies based across the emerging markets in Latin America.
16 Equity Emerging Asia Pacific
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies based across the emerging markets in Asia Pacific.
17 Equity Emerging Asia Sub Continent
Emerging
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
Markets
of companies based across the emerging markets in Asia Subcontinent
countries.
18 Equity Emerging Europe
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies based across the emerging markets in Europe.
19 Equity Emerging Middle East and North Africa
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies based across the emerging markets in the Middle East and North
20 Equity Emerging Africa
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of companies based across the emerging markets in Africa.

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 HIGH LEVEL EFC EQUITY CATEGORIES2
CATEGORIES Number Category
21 Equity Australia
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares of
companies based in Australia.
22 Equity Austria
23 Equity Belgium
24 Equity Brazil
25 Equity Canada
26 Equity Chile
27 Equity China
28 Equity Colombia
29 Equity Czech Republic
30 Equity Denmark
31 Equity Egypt
32 Equity Finland
33 Equity France
34 Equity Germany
35 Equity Greece
36 Equity Hong Kong
37 Equity India
38 Equity Indonesia
39 Equity Ireland
40 Equity Israel
41 Equity Italy
42 Equity Japan
43 Equity Malaysia
44 Equity Mexico
Country

45 Equity Netherlands
46 Equity Norway
47 Equity Pakistan
48 Equity Peru
49 Equity Poland
50 Equity Russia
51 Equity Singapore
52 Equity South Africa
53 Equity South Korea
54 Equity Spain
55 Equity Sweden
56 Equity Switzerland
57 Equity Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)
58 Equity Thailand
59 Equity Turkey
60 Equity United Kingdom
61 Equity United States
62 Equity Vietnam

2
The number of countries is not limited; it will increase with the number of funds classified under the EFC. 11
 HIGH LEVEL EFC EQUITY CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
71 Equity Global Small Cap
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of small
cap companies from at least two regions without a single country or region
focus.
72 Equity Global Advanced Markets Small Cap
73 Equity Europe Small Cap
Regions 74 Equity Advanced Europe Small Cap
75 Equity Eurozone Small Cap
76 Equity Europe Ex UK Small Cap
77 Equity Nordic Small Cap
78 Equity Asia Pacific Ex Japan Small Cap
79 Equity North America Small Cap
80 Equity Emerging Market Global Small Cap
81 Equity Australia Small Cap
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in a diversified portfolio of shares
of small cap companies based in Australia.
Small Cap

82 Equity Canada Small Cap

83 Equity China Small Cap
84 Equity Denmark Small Cap
85 Equity Finland Small Cap
Countries 86 Equity France Small Cap
87 Equity Germany Small Cap
88 Equity Japan Small Cap
89 Equity Norway Small Cap
80 Equity Sweden Small Cap
91 Equity Switzerland Small Cap
92 Equity United Kingdom Small Cap
93 Equity United States Small Cap3

3
The number of countries is not limited; it will increase with the number of funds classified under the EFC. 12
HIGH LEVEL EFC EQUITY CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
101 Equity Communication Services
Communication services funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of
companies within telecommunication services and media & entertainment.
102 Equity Consumer discretionary
Consumer discretionary funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares
of companies manufacturing or providing consumer discretionary goods or
services.
103 Equity Consumer staples
Consumer staples funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of
companies that manufacture and/or sell food/beverages, tobacco, prescription
drugs or household products
104 Equity Energy
Energy funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of companies in the
energy sector.
105 Equity Financials
Financial funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of companies in the
financial services sector.
Sector

106 Equity Health Care

Health care funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of companies of
healthcare, medicine and/or biotechnology.
107 Equity Industrials
Industrial funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of companies that
manufacture industrial-material goods.
108 Equity Information Technology
Information technology funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of
companies operating within the technology software and hardware industry.
109 Equity Materials
Materials funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of companies
involved in the production or manufacture of industrial materials.
110 Equity Real Estate
Real estate funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of real estate
companies or companies supplying services to the real estate market.
111 Equity Utilities
Utilities funds invest at least 80% of their assets in shares of companies that
provide utilities.

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4.2 Bond Fund Categories
4.2.1 General Bond Fund Categories

Bond funds invest at least 80% of their assets in fixed income securities that are traded in
regulated markets. Investments in cash should not exceed 20%. Investments in other assets
should not exceed 10% and should be limited to ensure that the 80% minimum investment in
fixed income securities is always respected. No equity exposure is allowed, whereas convertibles
are permitted to a limit of 20% of assets. Asset backed securities may be held up to a maximum
of 20% of the portfolio.

Overall, bond funds can be differentiated according to three classification criteria: credit quality,
interest rate exposure and currency exposure.

Bond

Aggregate
Corporate
Credit Government
Quality Aggregate High Yield
High Yield

Short Term
Medium Term
Interest Long Term
Rate Flexible
Unspecified

{
AUD
CAD
Currency CHF...etc.

The Credit Quality universe is split into five segments: Aggregate, Corporate, Government,
Aggregate High Yield and High Yield.

• Aggregate: Aggregate Bond Funds invest in government, corporate and mortgage-backed

bonds.A maximum of 30 % can be invested in emerging market bonds. The maximum exposure
to non-investment grade bonds is 30 % of which a maximum of 10% can be emerging market
bonds.

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• Corporate: Corporate Bond Funds invest a minimum of 70% of their portfolio in corporate
bonds with a maximum exposure of 30% to non-investment grade bonds of which a maximum
of 10% can be emerging market bonds. The maximum exposure to emerging market debt is
30%.

• Government: Government Bond Funds invest at least 80% of their assets in government bonds
(issued or explicitly guaranteed by a national government), with a maximum of 10% exposure
to corporate bonds. The exposure to emerging market debt should be less than 30%. The
maximum exposure to non-investment grade bonds is 30%, of which a maximum of 10% can
be emerging market bonds.

• Aggregate High Yield: Aggregate High Yield Bond Funds invest between 30% and 70% of their
portfolios in non-investment grade bonds, with a maximum of 30% of the total exposure in
emerging market bonds.

• High Yield: High Yield Bond Funds invest at least 70% of their assets in non-investment grade
bonds. The exposure to emerging market bonds should be less than 30%.

The Interest Rate exposure is measured by the weighted average modified duration of all fixed
income securities holdings of the fund. Following this approach, bond funds can be classified
as short, medium, long, flexible or unspecified duration. Because the term “duration” is not well
known to many investors and rarely used in fund names, the EFC uses the following definitions:

• Short Term (ST): less than 3 years average modified duration.

• Medium Term (MT): between 3 and 7 years average modified duration.
• Long Term (LT): more than 7 years average modified duration.
• Flexible (FD): the modified duration does not fit the current duration bands or is defined by the
fund group as flexible regardless of the current modified duration that can be deducted from
the holdings.
• Unspecified (UD): the modified duration is not defined by the fund group and cannot be
determined. In this case the fund will only receive an indicative classification.

Funds with an average modified duration of less than 1 year are not classified as Short Term but
are separately categorised as Ultra Short Bond Funds (UST), see section 4.2.6.

The Currency exposure is referred in the name of the category when the fund has at least 70%
exposure to a stated currency (with or without currency hedging). The EFC categories use the 3
letter ISO 4217 currency code to refer to the fund’s currency exposure. Those funds that don’t
have an exposure of at least 70% to a single currency will be classified in a category that do not
refer to any specific currency.

The tables below show and define categories relating to the general bond fund universe.
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

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 HIGH LEVEL EFC GENERAL BOND CATEGORIES4
CATEGORIES Number Category
1 Bond Aggregate ST EUR
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. At least 70% of the assets should be
denominated or hedged in EUR, and the average modified duration of the
portfolio should be less than 3 years.
2 Bond Aggregate ST GBP
Short Term
3 Bond Aggregate ST USD
4 Bond Aggregate ST
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. Assets should be denominated in different
currencies, and the average modified duration of the portfolio should be
less than 3 years.
5 Bond Aggregate MT EUR
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. At least 70% of the assets should be denom-
inated or hedged in EUR, and the average modified duration of the portfolio
should be between 3 and 7 years.
6 Bond Aggregate MT GBP
Medium Term
7 Bond Aggregate MT USD
8 Bond Aggregate MT
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. Assets should be denominated in different
currencies, and the average modified duration of the portfolio should be
between 3 and 7 years.
9 Bond Aggregate LT EUR
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. At least 70% of the assets should be denom-
inated or hedged in EUR, and the average modified duration of the portfolio
should be more than 7 years
Aggregate

10 Bond Aggregate LT GBP

Long Term
11 Bond Aggregate LT USD
12 Bond Aggregate LT
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. Assets should be denominated in different
currencies, and the average modified duration of the portfolio should be
more than 7 years
13 Bond Aggregate FD EUR
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. At least 70% of the assets should be denom-
inated or hedged in EUR, and the average modified duration of the portfolio
is flexible.
Flexible 14 Bond Aggregate FD GBP
15 Bond Aggregate FD USD
16 Bond Aggregate FD
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. Assets should be denominated in different
currencies, and the average modified duration of the portfolio is flexible.
17 Bond Aggregate UD EUR
Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
Unspecified other fixed income securities. At least 70% of the assets should be denom-
As the duration inated or hedged in EUR, and the average modified duration of the portfolio
is unspecified is unspecified.
the fund can 18 Bond Aggregate UD GBP
only obtain an 19 Bond Aggregate UD USD
indicative clas- 20 Bond Aggregate UD
sification. Funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate, government, and
other fixed income securities. Assets should be denominated in different
currencies, and the average modified duration of the portfolio is
unspecified.

4
The EFC general bond categories should comply with the definitions given in section 4.2.1. 16
HIGH LEVEL EFC GENERAL BOND CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
21 Bond Corporate ST EUR
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be less than 3 years.
Short Term 22 Bond Corporate ST GBP
23 Bond Corporate ST USD
24 Bond Corporate ST
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
70% of the assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be less than 3 years.
25 Bond Corporate MT EUR
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the aver-
age modified duration of the portfolio should be between 3 and 7 years.
26 Bond Corporate MT GBP
Medium Term
27 Bond Corporate MT USD
28 Bond Corporate MT
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. Assets
should be denominated in different currencies, and the average modified
duration of the portfolio should be between 3 and 7 years.
29 Bond Corporate LT EUR
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the aver-
age modified duration of the portfolio should be more than 7 years.
30 Bond Corporate LT GBP
Long Term
31 Bond Corporate LT USD
34 Bond Corprate LT
Corporate

Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. Assets
should be denominated in different currencies, and the average modified
duration of the portfolio should be more than 7 years.
35 Bond Corporate FD EUR
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the aver-
age modified duration of the portfolio is flexible.
36 Bond Corporate FD GBP
Flexible
37 Bond Corporate FD USD
38 Bond Corporate FD
Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. Assets
should be denominated in different currencies, and the average modified
duration of the portfolio is flexible.
39 Bond Corporate UD EUR
Unspecified Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
As the duration 70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the aver-
is unspecified age modified duration of the portfolio is unspecified.
the fund can 40 Bond Corporate UD GBP
only obtain an 41 Bond Corporate UD USD
indicative clas- 42 Bond Corporate UD
sification. Funds that invest at least 70% of their portfolio in corporate debt. At least
70% of the assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio is unspecified.

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HIGH LEVEL EFC GENERAL BOND CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
43 Bond Government ST EUR
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds. At
least 70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be less than 3 years.
Short Term 44 Bond Government ST GBP
45 Bond Government ST USD
46 Bond Government ST
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds.
Assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the average
modified duration of the portfolio should be less than 3 years.
47 Bond Government MT EUR
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds. At
least 70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be between 3 and 7 years.
48 Bond Government MT GBP
Medium Term
49 Bond Government MT USD
50 Bond Government MT
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds.
Assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the average
modified duration of the portfolio should be between 3 and 7 years.
51 Bond Governement LT EUR
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds. At
least 70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be more than 7 years.
52 Bond Government LT GBP
Long Term
53 Bond Government LT USD
Government

54 Bond Government LT
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds.
Assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the average
modified duration of the portfolio should be more than 7 years.
55 Bond Government FD EUR
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds. At
least 70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio is flexible.
56 Bond Government FD GBP
Flexible
57 Bond Government FD USD
58 Bond Government FD
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds.
Assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the average
modified duration of the portfolio is flexible.
59 Bond Government UD EUR
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds. At
Unspecified least 70% of the assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
As the duration
average modified duration of the portfolio is unspecified.
is unspecified
the fund can 60 Bond Government UD GBP
only obtain an 61 Bond Government UD USD
indicative
62 Bond Government UD
classification.
Funds that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in government bonds.
Assets should be denominated in different currencies, and the average
modified duration of the portfolio is unspecified.

18
HIGH LEVEL EFC GENERAL BOND CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
63 Bond Aggregate High Yield ST EUR
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be less than 3 years.
Short Term 64 Bond Aggregate High Yield ST GBP
65 Bond Aggregate High Yield ST USD
66 Bond Aggregate High Yield ST
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified port-
folio of high yield securities denominated in different currencies, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be less than 3 years.
67 Bond Aggregate High Yield MT EUR
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be between 3 and 7 years.
68 Bond Aggregate High Yield MT GBP
Medium Term 69 Bond Aggregate High Yield MT USD
70 Bond Aggregate High Yield MT
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated in different currencies, and
the average modified duration of the portfolio should be between 3 and 7
years.
71 Bond Aggregate High Yield LT EUR
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be more than 7 years.
Aggregate High Yield

72 Bond Aggregate High Yield LT GBP

Long Term
73 Bond Aggregate High Yield LT USD
74 Bond Aggregate High Yield LT
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified port-
folio of high yield securities denominated in different currencies, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio should be more than 7 years.
75 Bond Aggregate High Yield FD EUR
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
average modified duration of the portfolio is flexible.
76 Bond Aggregate High Yield FD GBP
Flexible
77 Bond Aggregate High Yield FD USD
78 Bond Aggregate High Yield FD
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated in different currencies, and
the average modified duration of the portfolio is flexible.
79 Bond Aggregate High Yield UD EUR
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
Unspecified portfolio of high yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, and the
As the duration
average modified duration of the portfolio is unspecified.
is unspecified
the fund can 80 Bond Aggregate High Yield UD GBP
only obtain an 81 Bond Aggregate High Yield UD USD
indicative clas-
82 Bond Aggregate High Yield UD
sification.
Funds that invest between 30% and 70% of their assets in a diversified
portfolio of high yield securities denominated in different currencies, and
the average modified duration of the portfolio is unspecified.

19
HIGH LEVEL EFC GENERAL BOND CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
83 Bond High Yield ST EUR
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an average modified duration of less than 3 years of high
yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, irrespective of the debtor
domiciles.
Short Term 84 Bond High Yield ST GBP
85 Bond High Yield ST USD
86 Bond High Yield ST
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an average modified duration of less than 3 years of high
yield securities denominated in different currencies.
87 Bond High Yield MT EUR
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an average modified duration between 3 and 7 years of
high yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, irrespective of the
debtor domiciles.
Medium Term 88 Bond High Yield MT GBP
89 Bond High Yield MT USD
90 Bond High Yield MT
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an average modified duration between 3 and 7 years of
high yield securities denominated in different currencies.
91 Bond High Yield LT EUR
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an average modified duration of more than 7 years of high
yield securities denominated or hedged in EUR, irrespective of the debtor
domiciles.
High Yield

Long Term 92 Bond High Yield LT GBP

93 Bond High Yield LT USD
94 Bond High Yield LT
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an average modified duration of more than 7 years of
high yield securities denominated in different currencies.
95 Bond High Yield FD EUR
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with a flexible average modified duration of high yield securi-
ties
denominated or hedged in EUR, irrespective of the debtor domiciles.
Flexible 96 Bond High Yield FD GBP
97 Bond High Yield FD USD
98 Bond High Yield FD
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with a flexible average modified duration of high yield securi-
ties denominated in different currencies.
99 Bond High Yield UD EUR
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
Unspecified grade bonds with an unspecified average modified duration of high yield
As the duration securities denominated or hedged in EUR, irrespective of the debtor domi-
is unspecified ciles.
the fund can 100 Bond High Yield UD GBP
only obtain an
indicative 101 Bond High Yield UD USD
classification. 102 Bond High Yield UD
Funds that invest a minimum of 70% of their assets in non-investment
grade bonds with an unspecified average modified duration of high yield
securities denominated in different currencies.

20
4.2.2 Emerging Market Bond Fund Categories

Emerging market funds belong to the bond fund universe and invest in investment grade and
non-investment grade debt issued by issuers in emerging countries with a minimum 60% exposure
to these countries.

Emerging market bond funds can be differentiated according to two classification criteria:
geographical exposure5 and currency.

Bond

Emerging
Market

Africa
Asia
Geo Asia Sub-continent
Europe
Exposure
Latin America
Middle East and North Africa
Global

Currency { Local Currency

The Geographical Exposure reflects the regional exposure of the fund investments. Funds with
at least an 80% exposure to a specific emerging market region will be classified in one of the
following 6 emerging sub-regions (Appendix 1): Emerging Africa, Emerging Asia Pacific, Emerging
Asia Sub-continent, Emerging Europe, Emerging Latin America and Emerging Middle East and
North Africa. Emerging Market Global funds are funds that invest in at least two emerging market
sub-regions without a single sub-region focus.

The Currency criteria differentiate between the emerging market bond funds that have an
exposure of at least 70% to a basket of local currencies from emerging markets, and other types
of emerging market bond funds.

5
The list of countries that are considered as EM are listed in Appendix 1 under “Emerging Markets”. 21
The table below shows and defines categories relating to the emerging market bond fund universe.

HIGH LEVEL EFC EMERGING MARKET BOND CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
130 Bond Emerging Africa
Funds that have a minimum 80% exposure to fixed income securities
issued or guaranteed by issuers in Africa.
Africa 131 Bond Emerging Africa Local Currency
Funds that have a minimum 80% exposure to fixed income securities
issued or guaranteed by issuers in Africa. At least 70% of the portfolio
should have an exposure to a basket of local currencies from emerging
markets.
132 Bond Emerging Asia
Asia
133 Bond Emerging Asia Local Currency
134 Bond Emerging Europe
Emerging Markets

Europe
135 Bond Emerging Europe Local Currency
136 Bond Emerging Latin America
Latin America
137 Bond Emerging Latin America Local Currency
Middle East and 138 Bond Emerging Middle East and North Africa
North Africa 139 Bond Emerging Middle East and North Africa Local Currency
140 Bond Emerging Global
Funds that have a minimum 80% exposure to fixed income securities
issued or guaranteed in at least two emerging market regions.
Global 141 Bond Emerging Global Local Currency
Funds that have an exposure to fixed income securities issued or guaran-
teed by issuers in at least two emerging market regions. At least 70% of
the portfolio should have an exposure to a basket of local currencies from
emerging markets.

22
4.2.3 Floating Rate Fund Categories

Floating rate funds invest a minimum of 70% in floating rate notes with no equity exposure. To be
classified in this category, floating rate funds should have a weighted average maturity (WAM) of
maximum six months and a weighted average life (WAL) of at least one year.
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

HIGH LEVEL EFC FLOATING RATE CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
142 Floating Rate DKK
143 Floating Rate EUR
Floating Rate EUR funds have as a primary objective to invest at least
70% of their assets in floating rates notes. 70% of their assets should be
denominated or hedged in EUR.
Floating Rate
144 Floating Rate GBP
145 Floating Rate USD
146 Floating Rate
Floating Rate funds have as a primary objective to invest at least 70% of
their assets in floating rates notes in different currencies.

4.2.4 Inflation Linked Bond Fund Categories

Inflation linked bond funds have a minimum 70% exposure to inflation linked bonds. This category
of funds can also be classified according to the currency (minimum 70% exposure).
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

HIGH LEVEL EFC INFLATION LINKED CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
147 Inflation Linked DKK
148 Inflation Linked EUR
Inflation Linked Funds invest a minimum of 70% of their portfolio in
government and corporate Inflation-Linked bonds. At least 70% of the
assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR.
Inflation Linked
149 Inflation Linked GBP
150 Inflation Linked USD
151 Inflation Linked
Inflation Linked Funds invest a minimum of 70% of their portfolios in
government and corporate Inflation-Linked bonds in various currencies.

23
4.2.5 Flexible Bond Fund Categories

Bond funds that do not meet the thresholds associated with the classification criteria considered
in the previous tables will be classified as “flexible” bond funds.
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

HIGH LEVEL EFC FLEXIBLE CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
152 Flexible DKK
153 Flexible EUR
Flexible Bond Funds invest their portfolio in a diversified basket of fixed
income securities and can adjust their credit quality, emerging markets
and interest rate exposure in a flexible manner. At least 70% of the assets
should be denominated or hedged in EUR.
Flexible
154 Flexible GBP
155 Flexible USD
156 Flexible
Flexible Bond Funds invest their portfolio in a diversified basket of fixed
income securities and can adjust their credit quality, emerging markets,
interest rate exposure and currency in a flexible manner.

4.2.6 Ultra Short Bond Fund Categories

Bond funds investing at least 80% of their assets directly or indirectly in bonds and/or money
market instruments with an average modified duration of less than one year will be classified as
“ultra short” bond funds.
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

HIGH LEVEL EFC ULTRA SHORT BOND CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
157 Bond Ultra Short EUR
Ultra Short Bond Funds are investing at least 80% of the assets directly
or indirectly in bonds or money market instruments. At least 70% of the
assets should be denominated or hedged in EUR, and the average modi-
fied duration of the portfolio should be less than 1 year.
158 Bond Ultra Short GBP
Bond Ultra Short
159 Bond Ultra Short USD
160 Bond Ultra Short
Ultra Short Bond Funds are investing at least 80% of the assets directly
or indirectly in bonds or money market instruments. Assets should be
denominated in different currencies, and the average modified duration
of the portfolio should be less than 1 year.

4.2.7 Mortgage-backed Bond Fund Categories

Bond funds investing at least 80% of their assets directly or indirectly in Mortgage-backed bonds.

HIGH LEVEL EFC MORTGAGE-BACKED BOND CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
161 Mortgage-backed Bonds
Mortgage-backed
Funds that invest at least 80% of the assets in Mortage-backed bonds.

24
4.3 Multi-Asset Fund Categories
Multi-Asset funds, sometimes also referred to as mixed or balanced funds, are funds that invest
in variable income securities, which are mainly listed equities, and in debt securities, cash and
cash equivalents. Debt securities include, among other things, floating rate notes, convertible
bonds, high yield and corporate bonds. Real estate securities and commodity securities should
be treated as variable income securities.
Multi-strategy funds do not belong to the Multi-Asset fund universe, but to the universe of “Absolute
Return Innovative Strategies” funds (see section 4.5). Typically, Multi-Asset funds aim to achieve
relative return against a customised multi-asset benchmark as traditional long-only funds.

Multi-Asset funds can be differentiated according to three classification criteria: geographical

exposure, asset allocation and currency.

Multi-Asset

{
Global
Geo Regions
Exposure Countries

{
Defensive
Asset Balanced
Allocation Aggressive
Flexible

{
AUD
Currency CAD
CHF... etc.

The Geographical Exposure reflects the local, regional or global exposure of the funds’ investments.
This breakdown is split into three groups: global, regions and countries. As a general rule, a “Single
Country Fund” must invest at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies established in
the country or region concerned. The domicile of a company is based on the company’s primary
listing or accepted country (region of operations). The list of regions and sub-regions are provided
in Appendix 1.

The Asset Allocation universe of Multi-Asset funds is divided into three categories that are defined
in terms of their exposure:

• Defensive: less than 35% exposure to variable income securities.

• Balanced: between 35% and 65% exposure to variable income securities.
• Aggressive: more than 65% exposure to variable income securities.

25
A fourth “Flexible” category is added to regroup funds that can maintain a 100 percent exposure
to any asset class for a certain period of time (in the context of an investment policy allowing
investment up to 100 percent in any asset class).

The Currency exposure is referred in the category name when the fund has at least a 70% exposure
to a stated currency (with or without currency hedging). Multi-Asset funds invested globally in
equity or fixed income transferable securities issued in a variety of currencies will be classified
without referring to a specific currency.

The tables below show and define the categories of the multi-asset funds universe.
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

26
HIGH LEVEL EFC MULTI-ASSET CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
1 Multi-Asset Global Defensive
Multi-Asset Global Defensive funds invest across the globe with a
constraint of maximum 35% in variable income securities and, the rest
of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, and with
no restriction to a specific country/region or currency.
Defensive 2 Multi-Asset Global Defensive EUR
Multi-Asset Global Defensive EUR funds invest across the globe with a
constraint of maximum 35% in variable income securities and the rest
of the portfolio invested in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents,
with a minimum of 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.
3 Multi-Asset Global Defensive USD
4 Multi-Asset Global Balanced
Multi-Asset Global Balanced funds invest across the globe between
35% and 65% of their portfolio in variable income securities and the
rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, and
with no restrictions to a specific country/region or currency.
Balanced 5 Multi-Asset Global Balanced EUR
Multi-Asset Global Balanced EUR funds invest across the globe be-
tween 35% and 65% of their portfolio in variable income securities and
the rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents,
with a minimum of 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.
6 Multi-Asset Global Balanced USD
Region

Global

7 Multi-Asset Global Aggressive

Multi-Asset Global Aggressive funds invest across the globe a mini-
mum 65% of their portfolio in variable income securities and the rest of
the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, and with no
restriction to a specific country/region or currency.
Aggres-
8 Multi-Asset Global Aggressive EUR
sive
Multi-Asset Global Aggressive EUR funds invest across the globe a
minimum of 65% of their portfolio in variable income securities and the
rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, with
a minimum of 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.
9 Multi-Asset Global Aggressive USD
10 Multi-Asset Global Flexible
Multi-Asset Global Flexible funds allocate their investments globally
across a variety of variable income securities, debt securities, cash and
cash equivalents issued in a range of currencies.
Flexible 11 Multi-Asset Global Flexible EUR
Multi-Asset Global Flexible EUR funds allocate their investments
globally across a variety of variable income securities, debt securities,
cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum of 70% of the assets
denominated or hedged in EUR.

27
HIGH LEVEL EFC MULTI-ASSET CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
12 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Defensive
Multi-Asset Global Defensive funds invest across the globe in devel-
oped markets with a constraint of maximum 35% in variable income
securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and
cash equivalents, and with no restriction to a specific country/region or
currency.
Defensive 13 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Defensive EUR
Multi-Asset Global Defensive EUR funds invest across the globe in de-
veloped markets with a constraint of maximum 35% in variable income
securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash
equivalents, with a minimum of 70% of the assets denominated or
hedged in EUR.
14 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Defensive USD
15 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Balanced
Multi-Asset Global Balanced funds invest across the globe between
35% and 65% of their portfolio in variable income securities and the
rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, and
with no restrictions to a specific country/region or currency.
Balanced 16 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Balanced EUR
Multi-Asset Global Balanced EUR funds invest across the globe be-
tween 35% and 65% of their portfolio in variable income securities and
the rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents,
with a minimum of 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.
Region

Global

17 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Balanced USD

18 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Aggressive
Multi-Asset Global Aggressive funds invest across the globe in de-
veloped markets a minimum 65% of their Assets in variable income
securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and
cash equivalents, and with no restriction to a specific country/region or
currency.
Aggres-
19 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Aggressive EUR
sive
Multi-Asset Global Balanced EUR funds invest across the globe in
developed markets between 35% and 65% of their portfolio in variable
income securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt securities, cash
and cash equivalents, with a minimum of 70% of the assets denomi-
nated or hedged in EUR.
20 Multi-Asset Global Aggressive USD
21 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Flexible
Multi-Asset Global Flexible funds allocate their investments globally in
developed markets across a variety of variable income securities, debt
securities, cash and cash equivalents issued in a range of currencies.
Flexible 22 Multi-Asset Global Advanced Markets Flexible EUR
Multi-Asset Global Flexible EUR funds allocate their investments
globally in developed markets across a variety of variable income
securities, debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum
of 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.

28
HIGH LEVEL EFC MULTI-ASSET CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
23 Multi-Asset United States Defensive EUR
Multi-Asset United States Defensive EUR funds invest with a constraint
of maximum 35% in variable income securities and the rest of the
portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum
of 80% exposure to US issuances and 70% of the assets denominated
or hedged in EUR.
Defensive
24 Multi-Asset United States Defensive USD
Multi-Asset United States Defensive USD funds invest with a constraint
of maximum 35% in variable income securities and the rest of the
portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum
of 80% exposure to US issuances and 70% of the assets denominated
Americas

or hedged in USD.
25 Multi-Asset United States Balanced EUR
Multi-Asset United States Balanced EUR funds invest between 35% and
65% in variable income securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt
securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum of 80% exposure
to US issuances and 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.
Balanced
Region

26 Multi-Asset United States Balanced USD

Multi-Asset United States Balanced USD funds invest between 35% and
65% in variable income securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt
securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum of 80% exposure
to US issuances and 70% of the assets denominated or hedged in USD.
27 Multi-Asset Asia Pacific Balanced
Multi-Asset Asia Pacific Balanced funds invest between 35% and 65%
in variable income securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt
Balanced
securities, cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum of 80%
Asia Pacific

exposure to Asia Pacific issuances and with no restriction to a

specific currency.
28 Multi-Asset Asia Pacific Aggressive
Multi-Asset Asia Pacific Aggressive funds invest a minimum 65% of in
Aggres-
variable income securities and the rest of the portfolio in debt securi-
sive
ties, cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum of 80% exposure to
Asia Pacific issuances and no restriction to a specific currency.

29
HIGH LEVEL EFC MULTI-ASSET CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
29 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Defensive
Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Defensive funds invest with a constraint
of maximum 35% in variable income securities and the rest of the
portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum
of 80% exposure to Advanced Europe issuances and with no restriction
to a specific currency.
30 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Defensive EUR
Defensive Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Defensive EUR funds invest with a
constraint of maximum 35% in variable income securities and the rest
of the portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents with a
minimum of 80% exposure to Advanced Europe issuances and 70% of
the assets denominated or hedged in EUR.
31 Multi-Asset Eurozone Defensive EUR
32 Multi-Asset Denmark Defensive DKK
33 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Balanced
Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Balanced funds invest between 35%
and 65% in variable income securities and the rest of the portfolio in
debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum of 80%
exposure to Advanced Europe issuances and with no restriction to a
specific currency.
34 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Balanced EUR
Balanced Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Balanced EUR funds invest between 35%
and 65% in variable income securities and the rest of the portfolio in
debt securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum of 80% ex-
posure to Advanced Europe issuances and 70% of the assets denomi-
nated or hedged in EUR.
Region

Europe

35 Multi-Asset Eurozone Balanced EUR

36 Multi-Asset Denmark Balanced DKK
37 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Aggressive
Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Aggressive funds invest a minimum
65% of their assets in variable income securities and the rest of the
portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, with a minimum
of 80% exposure to Advance Europe issuances and no restriction to a
specific currency.
Aggres- 38 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Aggressive EUR
sive Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Aggressive EUR funds invest a minimum
65% of their assets in variable income securities and the rest of the
portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum
of 80% exposure to Advanced Europe issuances and 70% of the assets
denominated or hedged in EUR.
39 Multi-Asset Eurozone Aggressive EUR
40 Multi-Asset United Kingdom Aggressive GBP
41 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Flexible
Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Flexible funds allocate their investments
across a variety of variable income securities, debt securities, cash and
cash equivalents with a minimum 80% exposure to Advanced Europe
issuances and no restriction to a specific currency.
Flexible 42 Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Flexible EUR
Multi-Asset Advanced Europe Flexible EUR funds allocate their
investments across a variety of variable income securities, debt
securities, cash and cash equivalents with a minimum 80% exposure
to Advanced Europe issuances and 70% of the assets denominated or
hedged in EUR.

30
4.4 Money Market Fund Categories
Money Market funds (MMFs) are classified under the EFC in line with the EU Regulation on MMFs6,
which distinguishes three main categories of MMFs:

1. Variable Net Asset Value (VNAV) MMFs

a. Short-term VNAV MMF
b. Standard VNAV MMF
2. Public Debt Constant Asset value (CNAV) MMFs
3. Low Volatility Net Asset Value (LVNAV) MMFs

VNAV MMFs offer unit/share purchases and redemptions at a variable price, whereas CNAV and
LVNAV MMFs offer unit/share purchases at a fixed price. CNAV MMFs must invest at least 99.5%
of their assets in public debt. Units/shares in a LVNAV MMF can be purchased or redeemed at
a constant price, as long as the value of the assets in the fund do not deviate by more than 0.2%
from par.

The EU Regulation also distinguishes between short-term and standard MMF. Short-term MMFs
are required to adhere to tighter investment rules than Standard MMFs. Three types of funds can
be categorised as short-term MMFs: Public Debt CNAV, LVNAV and Short-term VNAV. Standard
MMFs must be variably priced, and therefore all Standard MMFs are VNAV MMFs by type.

The EFC also classifies MMFs according to their currency exposure.

Money
Market

Variable Public Debt

LVNAV
NAV CNAV

Money
Market Type
{ Short-term
Standard Currency Currency

Currency

The Currency exposure must be given in the name of the category. All types of funds should be
fully exposed or hedged to a single currency.

6
See https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32017R1131. 31
The table below shows and describes the EFC categories relating to the MMF universe.
Currencies in the list are only examples. Currencies are added to the classification when needed.

HIGH LEVEL EFC MONEY MARKET CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
1 Public Debt CNAV Money Market DKK
2 Public Debt CNAV Money Market EUR
Public Debt A Public Debt CNAV MMF is set up and invests according to the provisions
CNAV set up in the EU MMF Regulation.
3 Public Debt CNAV Money Market GBP
4 Public Debt CNAV Money Market USD
5 Short-term variable NAV Money Market DKK
6 Short-term variable NAV Money Market EUR
Short-term Short-term MMF is set up and invests according to the provisions set up in
VNAV the EU MMF Regulation.
7 Short-term variable NAV Money Market GBP
Money Market

8 Short-term variable NAV Money Market USD

9 Standard variable NAV Money Market DKK
10 Standard variable NAV Money Market EUR
Standard Standard MMF is set up and invests according to the provisions set up in the
VNAV EU MMF Regulation.
11 Standard variable NAV Money Market GBP
12 Standard variable NAV Money Market USD
13 Low volatility NAV Money Market DKK
14 Low volatility NAV Money Market EUR
A LVNAV MMF is set up and invests according to the provisions set up in the
LVNAV EU MMF Regulation.
15 Low volatility NAV Money Market GBP
16 Low volatility NAV Money Market USD

32
4.5 ARIS Categories
ARIS Funds are typically managed with the objective of generating a positive return over a cash
benchmark, irrespective of market movements, and that are likely to make extensive use of deriv-
atives to short/long specific securities or the market as a whole.

ARIS Funds are classified based on the strategy style of the funds. This means that the
categories for ARIS funds are not defined on the basis of the funds’ portfolio holdings. For this
reason, the ARIS funds will be classified, at least initially, on the basis of the fund promoters’
declaration.

The EFC divides the ARIS-fund universe in eight High Level categories: Directional, Long/Short,
Relative Value, Event Driven, Multi-Strategy, Index Trackers, Leveraged Index Trackers and Fund
of ARIS Funds.

Directional
Strategies

Long/Short

Relative
Value

Event Driven

ARIS

Multi-Strategy

ARIS Index
Trackers

Leveraged
Index Trackers

Fund of
ARIS Funds

• Directional Strategy Funds: Funds that execute a broad range of strategies with a bias in
a specific direction triggered by macro factors. Whilst directional strategies may employ
relative value techniques, fund managers focus on profiting from trends in underlying assets,
rather than the realisation of valuation discrepancies. Strategies can follow a fundamental or
behavioural /technical approach.

33
• Long/Short: Funds that implement analytical techniques to capture the direction of price
movement regardless of whether prices rise or fall. This is distinguished from the dominant
long focus of Directional Strategy funds. Strategies can follow a fundamental or behavioural/
technical approach.

• Relative Value: Use relative value techniques to exploit a valuation discrepancy in the relationship
between multiple securities employing fundamental or quantitative techniques. These funds
explicitly focus on price discrepancies between investments as arbitrage opportunities.

• Event Driven: Invest in securities of companies currently or prospectively involved in corporate

transactions or subject to other corporate events.

• Multi-Strategy Funds: Follow different types of strategies (equity long/short, commodities,

volatility arbitrage…etc.).

• ARIS Index Trackers: Fund of funds that try to replicate the performance of a particular index
made by a minimum of five different ARIS funds. The replication can be done by direct or
indirect exposure to the underlying funds. Conventional long index funds and long ETFs are
classified as conventional funds.

• Leveraged Index Trackers: Try to replicate the performance multiplied by X of a particular index
made by direct or indirect long or short exposure to the underlying securities. Conventional
long index funds and long ETFs are classified as conventional funds.

• Fund of ARIS Funds: Invest in a portfolio of other ARIS funds rather than investing directly in
securities.

The tables below shows and describes all categories relating to the ARIS funds universe.

HIGH LEVEL EFC ARIS CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
1 ARIS Global Macro
Funds that aim to generate returns from movements in the fixed income,
derivative, equity, commodity etc. markets by using macroeconomic
fundamentals to identify dislocation in asset prices.
2 ARIS Managed Futures/CTAs
Funds invested in global futures and options markets to gain exposure
to a broad variety of underlying asset classes using proprietary trading
systems based on quantitative factors.
3 ARIS Currencies
Directional
Funds that develop fundamental or quantitative strategies in currency
Strategies
markets and are influenced by top-down analysis of macroeconomic
variables in developed and emerging markets.
4 ARIS Commodities
Funds that invest in both Emerging and Advanced Markets commodities
utilizing different analysis techniques (fundamental, systematic,
behavioural...etc.).
5 ARIS Emerging Markets
Funds that invest in Emerging Market fixed income instruments
influenced by top-down analysis of macroeconomic variables.
6 ARIS Leveraged Crypto Assets
Funds that are investing directly or indirectly in crypto assets. They may
use various strategies, including leveraged long holdings, short selling,
and arbitrage. Conventional long funds and long ETFs are classified as
Crypto Assets.

34
HIGH LEVEL EFC ARIS CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES Number Category
7 ARIS Long/Short Equity Long Bias Strategy
Funds that focus on individual security selection and tend to keep long
exposure and expect to outperform traditional equity managers in growing
equity markets.
8 ARIS Long/Short Equity Variable Bias Strategy
Funds that focus on individual security selection and do not stick to a constant
specific long or short market exposure. These funds can alter their market
Long/Short exposure dramatically in response to perceived opportunities, moving from a
large net long position to substantial net short within a short period of time.
9 ARIS Long/Short Market Neutral
Funds that use quantitative techniques to analyse price data to ascertain
information about future price movements and relationships between
securities, select securities for purchase and sale. Fund managers try to offset
any correlation between the portfolio return and the overall market return; they
are neutral in beta terms.
10 ARIS Fixed Income Arbitrage
Funds playing the spread between related instruments in which one or multiple
components of the spread is a fixed income instrument with a quantitative and
fundamental discretionary approach (the most significant are top-down macro
influenced).
11 ARIS Credit Arbitrage
Funds playing the spread between related instruments in which one or multiple
components of the spread is a fixed income instrument, typically realizing an
Relative attractive spread between multiple issuers.
Value
12 ARIS Convertible Arbitrage
Funds playing the spread between related instruments in which one or multiple
components of the spread is a convertible fixed income instrument.
13 ARIS Volatility Arbitrage
Funds playing trade volatility strategies as an asset class: arbitrage, directional,
market neutral or a mix of types of strategies. Exposures can be long, short, neu-
tral or variable to the direction of implied volatility, and can include both listed
and unlisted instruments.
14 ARIS Merger Arbitrage
Funds that invest in equity and equity related instruments of companies which
are engaged in corporate announced transactions.
15 ARIS Corporate Events
Funds that invest in equity and equity related instruments of companies involved
in a corporate transaction, security issuance/repurchase, asset sales, division
Event Driven spin-off or other catalyst-oriented situation. They tend to invest
primarily in equity (greater than 60%) but also in corporate debt exposure, in
general focusing on post-bankruptcy equity exposure and exit of restructuring.
16 ARIS Event Driven
Funds that invest in securities of companies currently or prospectively involved
in corporate transactions of a wide variety, typically mixing merger arbitrage and
corporate events strategies.
17 Multi-Strategy ARIS Funds
Multi-Strategy Funds that follow different types of strategies (equity long/short, commodities,
volatility arbitrage etc.).
18 ARIS Index Trackers
Fund of funds that try to replicate the performance of a particular index made
ARIS Index
by a minimum of five different ARIS funds. The replication can be done by direct
Trackers or indirect exposure to the underlying funds. Conventional index funds and long
ETFs are classified as conventional funds.
19 Leveraged Index Trackers
Funds that try to replicate the performance multiplied by X of a particular index
Leveraged
made by direct or indirect long or short exposure to the underlying securities.
Index Trackers Conventional long index funds and long ETFs are classified as conventional
funds.
20 Fund of ARIS Funds
Fund of
Funds that invest in a portfolio of other ARIS funds rather than investing directly
ARIS Funds in securities.

35
4.6 Other Categories
Several types of funds falling outside the five broad categories stated above have been defined
by the EFCF. These funds are also classified on the basis of the declaration by their promoters.

HIGH LEVEL EFC OTHER CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES Number Category
1 Asset-backed Securities
Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in financial securities
backed by pools of underlying assets such as loans or other receivables,
including leases, credit card debts and companies’ receivables, will be
categorised as ABS funds.
2 Capital Protected
Funds that are designed to offer though their investments strategy some
form of capital protection without any legal guarantee.
3 Closed-ended Real Estate
Funds - listed or not - that are regulated at national level, not necessarily
by fund-specific regulation and that:
• have a fixed number of shares outstanding
• are allowed to invest directly or indirectly through participations in real
estates
4 Commodities
Funds that invest in commodities and commodity futures and options
5 Convertibles
Funds that invest at least 70% in convertible bonds and primarily equity
linked notes, with less than 30% exposure to primarily equity linked notes.
6 Guaranteed
Funds that invest in financing, constructing, owning, operating and
Other maintaining different infrastructure projects.
Categories 7 Infrastructure
Funds that invest in financing, constructing, owning, operating and main-
taining different infrastructure projects.
8 Lifecycle/Target Maturity
Funds that are managed toward significant withdrawals when approach-
ing a specified target date, with asset allocation becoming more defen-
sive approaching the date.
9 Open-ended Real Estate
Funds that are regulated at national level by fund-specific regulation and
that:
• are redeemable at certain moments at the request of unit/ shareholder
• are allowed to invest directly or indirectly through participations in real
estates and/ or in shares/ units of other open-ended real estate funds
• comply among others with well-defined rules concerning risk
diversification, net asset value calculation and subscription and
redemption rules.
10 REITS
Companies listed or not - that are regulated at national level by specific
regulation and that
• aim at buying, selling and managing real estate (directly or indirectly),
• have a special tax status.

36
12 Currencies
Funds that invest at least 80% of the assets in foreign exchange (FX)
markets, excluding funds categorised under ARIS Currencies.
13 Crypto Assets
Funds that invest at least 80% of the assets directly or indirectly in crypto
assets.
14 Private Equity
Funds that predominantly invest in equity of unlisted, private companies.
Types of private equity funds include venture capital, buyout (MBO, LBO),
co-investment, distressed and mezzanine, among others.
15 Private Debt
Funds that predominantly invest in non-bank loans or debt securities is-
sued by private companies or other issuers, which are not traded through
regulated, public markets. Types of private debt funds include direct
lending, distressed debt, mezzanine, real estate and infrastructure, among
others.

37
Appendix 1: List and Composition of EFC Regions
The EFC divides the world into four regions:

• AMERICAS covers all countries located in North, Central and Latin America.
• ASIA PACIFIC covers all countries located in Asia Pacific.
• EUROPE covers all European countries.
• EMERGING MARKETS include countries that are directly or indirectly referred to one of the
Emerging Market sub-regions below. All other countries are defined as advanced countries.

Each of the above four regions is decomposed into sub-regions as follows:

AMERICAS
North America: USA and Canada

ASIA PACIFIC
Asia Pacific Ex Japan: All countries located in Asia Pacific except Japan
Greater China: China, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Hong Kong

EUROPE
Advanced Europe: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and UK
Eurozone: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and
Spain
Europe Ex-UK: Advanced Europe excluding UK
Nordic: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
Iberia: Spain and Portugal

EMERGING MARKETS
Emerging Latin America: Central and South America
Emerging Asia Pacific: All countries except Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand,
Singapore and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)
Emerging Asia Subcontinent: India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan
Emerging Europe: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of North Macedonia,
Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
Emerging Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran,
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey8, United Arab Emirates and Republic of Yemen
Emerging Africa: African countries

7
Funds with exposure to this region will be treated as emerging markets if they have a total exposure of less than 40% 38
to Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei).
8
Turkey can be treated as belonging to either Emerging Europe or Middle East and North Africa.
European Fund and Asset Management Association
Address: 11 Rue Marie-Thérèse, B-1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 2 513 39 69
Fax +32 2 513 26 43
E. info@efama.org - www.efama.org