Bloomberg Fund Classifications: Guide To Our New Funds Classification System
Bloomberg Fund Classifications: Guide To Our New Funds Classification System
Bloomberg Fund Classifications: Guide To Our New Funds Classification System
BLOOMBERG
FUND
CLASSIFICATIONS
Guide to our new Funds
Classification System
2 September 2013
GUIDE TO FUND CLASSIFICATIONS
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OVERVIEW
The new Bloomberg Fund Classification System (BFCS) allows more granular prospectus-based
fund classification providing clients with the selections and features they need to group and
compare funds with similar investment objectives. This system also drives the building of
Bloomberg Peer Groups (BPG), peer rankings, and generation of aggregates like our hedge fund
performance indices.
CLASSIFICATION UNIVERSE
The new classification system’s active coverage includes over 156,000 open end fund share-
classes, 15,000 exchange traded products, and 10,000 hedge funds. Closed funds have also
been classified.
NEW FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
A standardized industry focus classification that allows clients to search for and group funds
in a way that aligns to the underlying instruments a fund invests in.
Multiple selections for geographic focus to better reflect the multiple markets a fund may
participate in.
Global Money Market Fund classifications including currency focused, general and
enhanced MMKT.
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) specific objectives to provide more granular, strategic
analysis.
Refined Alternative Investment Strategies that capture accurate hedge fund investment
objectives.
Alternative strategies are now applicable to mutual funds.
New key categories such as ‘Inflation-protected’ and attributes that capture aspects of a
strategy in a granular way, such as ‘China A Share’, ‘ESG’ and ‘Tax Managed’.
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Contents
OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................... 4
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Methodology
Bloomberg takes a prospectus based view of each fund by using publicised documents including prospectuses
and annual reports to determine the intended investment objective of the manager. The characteristics of this
objective are captured in two complementary parts; an asset class specific part and a non-asset class specific
part to derive the Bloomberg Fund Objective (BFO). Funds that share the same BFO, fund type and geographic
focus are grouped into an enhanced peer group ranking system comparing performance over defined periods
for funds with similar characteristics.
Bloomberg first assigns an asset Additionally, Bloomberg captures This structure allows
class focus for a fund – then the non-asset class specific us to granularly
asset class specific investment information about a fund – specify any given
strategy implemented by the fund, whether the fund targets fund’s objective,
and where applicable, asset class particular industries, invests in which enables us to
specific detail about the investment emerging markets, is an Index build tighter peer
universe of securities to which this Fund or is Tax managed for groups.
strategy is applied. example.
Bloomberg will use the following primary sources as provided by the fund company to assign the BFO:
Prospectus
Fund Fact Sheet
Annual/Semi-Annual reports
Information typically contained within the ‘Investment Objective’ statement will be used to classify the fund in
a corresponding category.
Selection availability of the criterion outlined above differs across the asset classes. The mandatory and
optional selections are outlined below. Where the field is left blank this option is not available for selection for
the particular asset-class. Geographic Focus, Economic Association and General Attributes are optional
selections applicable to any fund regardless of asset class.
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Equity
● ○ ○
Fixed
Income ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Mixed
● ○
Specialty
● ○
Real Estate
●
Commodity
●
Money Mkt
● ○ ○ ○
● = mandatory
○ = optional
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The extraction of asset-class specific data from source documents will include three separate classification
components, namely Asset Class, Investment Strategy and Asset-class specific characteristics. Firstly, we assign
an asset class focus on the fund level. An asset-class specific strategy is denoted in accordance with the
methodology a manager uses to select assets for inclusion in the portfolio and further details about the asset-
class market segment is also selected. Using Equity as an example, we add further detail about the market
capitalization focus of the fund, and for Fixed Income, about the maturity and credit quality focus of the fund.
Source documents may in certain instances not define the asset-class specific characteristics. The Investment
Strategy is therefore mandatory selection criteria, whereas asset-class specific characteristics are non-
mandatory.
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The above components are updated from information contained in the objective and investment strategy
sections of the fund’s source document. The fund’s name may also be used as a general barometer for the
correct selection components.
Mixed Allocation funds must expressly state the intention of holding diversified assets in the source document
or provide evidence, such as full historical portfolio disclosure, that the fund’s intended objective is other than
that stated in the source document to qualify as Mixed Allocation.
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Equity
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Value Small
Growth Mid
Blend Large
Long/Short
Market Neutral
Strategy
The stock selection methodology the fund will employ to achieve its stated objective.
Value
A value fund primarily holds stocks that are deemed to be undervalued in price and that are likely to
pay dividends.
Growth
A growth fund invests in stocks with growth as its primary goal. The portfolio will mainly consist of
companies with above-average growth in earnings that reinvest their earnings into expansion,
acquisitions, and/or research and development.
Blend
A blend fund invests in a combination of value and growth stocks.
Bear Market
Bear-market funds invest in short positions and derivatives in order to profit from stocks that drop in
price. Because these portfolios often have extensive holdings in shorts or puts, their returns generally
move in the opposite direction of the benchmark index. The Fund invests in out-of-favor stocks.
Long/Short
Long/short Funds employ both long and short equity positions. The fund's goal is not to be market
neutral, but rather to switch back and forth between an overall net long or net short portfolio,
depending on market conditions and opportunities where a manager sees differences between a
security's value and market price. Investments will usually be regional or sector specific.
Market Neutral
A market neutral fund invests predominately in equity securities. The funds will long equities perceived
as undervalued and short equities perceived as overvalued. This strategy will seek positive/absolute
returns regardless of the overall market direction.
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Business Rule: If Value, Growth, or Blend is not clearly stated in the document AND it is an Index Fund,
Bloomberg will look at the underlying benchmark – i.e. Index Fund tracking the Russell 2000 Value Index,
then we will assign Value as the investment strategy.
Market Capitalization
Small Cap
The definition of a small cap will vary between fund companies. A general guide to this selection is a
fund that targets investments in companies with a market cap of less than 1.5 billion. Small cap may be
included in the fund name.
Mid Cap
The definition of a mid-cap will vary between fund companies. A general guide to this selection is a
fund that targets investments in companies with a market cap of greater than 1.5 billion but less than 8
billion. Mid cap may be included in the fund name.
Large
The definition of a large cap will vary between fund companies. A general guide to this selection is a
fund that targets investments in companies with a market cap of greater than 8 billion. Large cap may
be included in the fund name. (Also commonly referred to as blue chip)
Broad Market (otherwise known as multi-cap)
Funds investing in small, mid or large cap companies will be updated as Broad Market.
Business Rule: Funds will be marked as small, mid or large cap if designated in the prospectus. Micros
will roll into small. Small to Mid-Cap rolls up to Mid, etc. A fund investing in small, mid or large cap (i.e. No
restriction on market cap) will be updated as Broad Market. If no specification is in the document then
market cap will be left blank.
For Index funds, we will use the index that it tracks/replicates to determine the market cap. There may be
instances where market sentiment of an index overrules what the index technically invests in. i.e. the S&P
500 is technically a multi cap but is seen in the marketplace as a large cap index thus the tracking fund of
SPY US is marked as large cap.
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Fixed Income
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Municipals
Asset Backed
Bank Loans
Convertible
Inflation
Protected
Preferred
Strategy
Aggregate
An aggregate bond fund primarily invests in debt securities issued by government(s) and
corporation(s).
Asset Backed
An asset-backed fund primarily invests in securities issued by the government, federal agencies or
corporations that are backed by real assets such as home equity loans, credit card receivables, etc.
Bank Loans
Bank loan funds consist of loans made by banks or other financial institutions to companies and are
often below investment grade.
Convertible
A convertible securities fund will primarily invest in securities that are convertible into another type of
security. They are usually bonds or preferred shares that are exchangeable for a set number of another
form of asset type, usually common shares.
Corporate
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A corporate fund invests primarily in debt securities issued by corporations. Although preferred shares
may not be a predominant portion of the fund investments, the fund may invest in them.
Government
A government fund invests the majority of its assets in securities that are issued or guaranteed by the
government, its agencies or instrumentalities.
Inflation Protected
An inflation-protected fund primarily invests in inflation-indexed debt securities issued by the
government or corporations.
Mortgaged Backed
A mortgaged-backed fund is a type of asset-backed security that primarily invests in securities that are
secured by a mortgage or a collection of mortgages.
Municipal
A municipal fund will invest primarily in municipal securities issued in any state/province.
Preferred (ETF Only)
The ETF will track preferred securities.
Rating Class
High Yield
High yield funds invest in bonds with a bond rating of Ba or lower according to Moody’s or BB+ or
lower on S&P’s scale. The securities are below investment grade and are commonly referred to as junk
bonds. (Also referred to as speculative grade)
Investment Grade A or higher- A fund investing in investment-grade debt securities rated A- by S&P or
higher or the equivalent of other rating agencies
Investment Grade B or higher- a fund investing in investment-grade debt securities rated BBB- by S&P
or higher or the equivalent of other rating agencies
Maturity Band
Ultra-Short
An ultra-short fund typically has an average duration or maturity of less than 1 year.
Short
A short fund typically has an average duration or maturity between 1 and 3 years.
Intermediate
An intermediate fund typically has an average duration or maturity between 3 and 10 years.
Long
A long term fund typically has an average duration or maturity greater than 10 years.
Business Rule: Funds will be marked as ultra-short, short, intermediate or long if designated in the
prospectus. Maturity bands that are not restricted or not identified will not have any selections .
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Mixed Allocation
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Strategy
Aggressive
Moderate
Conservative
Dynamic
Global
Target up to 2015
Target 2016-2020
Target 2021-2025
Target 2026...2050
Target 2051-2055
Target 2055
Strategy
Aggressive Allocation
Aggressive allocation funds seek to provide both capital appreciation and income by investing in three
major areas: stocks, bonds, and cash. These portfolios can hold large positions in stocks ranging from
70% to 100% of the assets in equities and the remainder in fixed income and cash.
Moderate Allocation
Moderate allocation portfolios seek to provide both capital appreciation and income by investing in
three major areas: stocks, bonds, and cash. These portfolios tend to hold larger positions in stocks than
conservative-allocation portfolios. These portfolios typically have 50% to 70% of assets in equities and
the remainder in fixed income and cash.
Conservative Allocation
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Conservative allocation portfolios seek to provide both capital appreciation and income by investing in
three major areas: stocks, bonds, and cash. These portfolios tend to hold smaller positions in stocks
than moderate-allocation portfolios. These portfolios typically have 20% to 50% of assets in equities
and 50% to 80% of assets in fixed income and cash.
Dynamic Allocation
Dynamic Allocation funds do not have targets but instead have the flexibility to move asset classes.
Global Allocation
Global allocation funds specifically target either international or global asset allocation.
Target up to 2015
Target 2016 – 2020
Target 2021 – 2025
Target 2026 – 2030
Target 2031 – 2035
Target 2036 – 2040
Target 2041 – 2045
Target 2045 – 2050
Target 2051 – 2055
Target over 2055
Target funds automatically reset the asset mix (stocks, bonds, cash equivalents) in its portfolio according to
a selected time frame.
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Specialty
The specialty asset class has been created to accommodate the market trend of mutual funds that follow life
policy, currency and derivative strategies.
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Strategy
Life Policy
Currency
Derivative
Specialty(ETF)
Strategy
This is the selection methodology the fund will employ to achieve its stated objective.
Life Policy
Life policy funds invest in whole-of-life insurance policies that are given up by their owners. The
funds buy the policies at a deep discount to their face values. They undertake to pay policy premiums
and returns are realized when the insured parties die.
Currency
Currency funds invest in US and foreign currencies through the use of short-term money-market
instruments and derivative instruments (including and not limited to, forward currency contracts,
index swaps and options) and cash deposits.
Derivative
A derivatives fund will primarily invest in derivative securities such as futures, options or warrants.
Derivatives funds that invest in a single type of derivatives product or a mix of derivatives products
will be included.
Specialty (ETFs only)
Specialty ETFs provide exposure usually associated with hedge funds and financial entities. The goal
of this strategy is to exploit perceived market inefficiencies. These are typically ETFs that do not fit
into any particular asset class, employ hedge fund strategies or track volatility.
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Real Estate
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Strategy
Physical Securities
Strategy
This is the selection methodology the fund will employ to achieve its stated objective.
Physical Assets*
A physical assets fund will engage in management and or ownership of property. These are typically
illiquid assets.
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Money Market
Non-US Money Market Strategies
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Currency USD
Government
Focused EUR
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Treasury
Currency Focused
The prospectus will typically state that the fund is investing in money markets denominated only in
specific currencies.
General Money Market
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The fund invests in money market instruments in general with no particular currency focus.
Enhanced
Also called cash plus funds – the fund will typically invest some of their portfolio in the same assets as
money market funds, but also invest in riskier, higher yielding, less liquid assets such as: lower – rated
bonds, longer maturities. The purpose of enhanced cash funds is not to replace money markets, but to
fit in the continuum between cash and bonds – to provide a higher-yielding investment for more
permanent cash
Business Rule: For Enhanced money market funds that are also currency focused, Enhanced will take
priority as the investment strategy
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Commodity
Asset Classes
Equity Fixed Income Mixed Allocation Specialty Real Estate Money Market Commodity Alternative
Strategy
Agriculture
Energy
Precious Metals
Industrial Metals
Broad Based
Livestock
Strategy
Agriculture
Energy
Precious Metals
Industrial Metals
Broad Based
Livestock (ETFs only)
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Alternative
Strategy
Long-Short Discretionary
Distressed ABS Cap thematic Currency Multi-
Struct/Credit strategy
Long Biased Arb
Merger Arb Systematic
Eq Discretionary
FI Diversified Diversified
Convertible
Short Biased Arb
Activist Macro
Eq Emerging Systematic
Diversified
Market Debt
FI Arb
Emerging Mkt Spl Situation
Mortgage-
Mkt Neutral Event driven backed Arb
div
Statistical Arb
Eq Hedge Div
Styles
Long-Short
An Equity Directional investment style employs both long and short equity positions. The Fund’s goal is
not to be market neutral, but rather to switch back and forth between an overall net long or net short
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portfolio, depending on market conditions and opportunities where a Manager sees differences
between a securities value and market price. Investments will usually be regional or sector specific.
Long Biased
An Equity Directional investment style employing both long and short equity positions. Funds will
invest primarily in long positions in securities expected to appreciate in value while supplementing that
with short positions of securities expected to fall in value. Investments will usually be regional or sector
specific. This also includes funds which invest in private placements, or ‘Regulation D’ securities, which
are privately offered securities offered to the fund, upon negotiated terms since they are highly
illiquid.
Short Biased
An Equity Directional investment style that employs short, and sometimes long, equity positions. Funds
will invest in short positions in securities expected to fall in value and may supplementing that with
long positions of securities expected to appreciate in value. Investments will usually be regional or
sector specific.
Market Neutral
An Equity Market Neutral investment style that attempts to take advantage of pricing inefficiencies in
the equity markets. Funds will utilize a fundamental “bottom-up” investment style when selecting the
long and short positions in their portfolios.
Statistical Arbitrage
An Equity Market Neutral investment style that attempts to take advantage of pricing discrepancies in
the equity markets. Funds will utilize mathematical models or calculations to evaluate a portfolio of
stocks, and attempt to profit from variations of current prices compared to similar stocks and/or
historical performance norms. One common technique is known as ‘Pairs Trading’.
Emerging Market
An Emerging Market investment style that invests primarily in equity securities, in emerging markets.
These areas include parts of Asia and the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Latin America and
Africa.
Equity Hedge Diversified
Equity Hedge Diversified will employ a range of different strategies including: Long/Short, Long Bias,
Short Bias, Market neutral, Statistical Arbitrage, and Emerging Market.
Strategy: Macro
These funds employ a top-down approach. Funds will use leveraging techniques on perceived price-value
disparities of stock markets, interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities. Manager’s strategies are
usually based around an opportunistic approach to global economies and their policies, although funds may
focus their investments in specific countries or regions.
Styles
Discretionary Thematic
Portfolio Managers may trade actively in developed and emerging markets, focusing on both
absolute and relative levels on equity markets, interest rates/fixed income markets, currency and
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Styles
Fixed Income Arbitrage
A Fixed Income Relative Value investment style that attempts to take advantage of risk spreads and
pricing inefficiencies of sovereign, corporate and other types of debt securities. Funds will usually
employ techniques such as yield-curve or spread arbitrage using municipal and corporate debt
securities hedged with Treasury bonds or other financial contracts. This includes credit arbitrage
techniques as well.
Convertible Arbitrage
A Convertible Arbitrage Relative Value Style primarily involves taking long positions in convertible
bonds or warrants, hedged with a short position, typically in the underlying stock. This portfolio
construction will look to exploit inefficiencies in pricing by being long convertible bonds or
preferred stock and short the underlying common stock. In many cases, convertible bonds and
warrants are not accurately priced due to illiquidity in the convertible debt and warrant markets as
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compared to the markets in the underlying common stocks, uncertainty concerning the call or
redemption features of convertible securities and lesser market focus on these derivatives as
opposed to the equities into which they are convertible or exercisable may give rise to significant
profit opportunities.
Capital Structure/Credit Arbitrage
A Fixed Income Relative Value investment style that is an investment process designed to isolate
attractive opportunities in corporate fixed income securities. These securities include both senior
and subordinated claims as well as bank debt and other outstanding obligations, structuring
positions with little or no broad credit market exposure. This strategy is similar to Convertible
Arbitrage however Capital Structure/Credit Arbitrage attempts to exploit the mispricing of different
classes of securities of the same company. If a company has more than one class of debt or stock,
each class attempts to value their contingent claim on the company. Different valuations and
trading inefficiencies can lead to arbitrage opportunities with a properly constructed portfolio.
Capital Structure Arbitrage is primarily a bet on convergence. A manager will reap the benefits
when firms in financial distress survive but can be dangerous if the company ends up in bankruptcy.
Mortgage-Backed Arbitrage
A Fixed Income Relative Value investment style that attempts to capture the spread inherent in
Mortgage-Backed Securities by using interest rate futures, options and treasury securities. This
investment requires a careful analysis of the changes in mortgage-backed securities due to interest
rate fluctuations to maintain a properly hedged portfolio. A typical portfolio construction would be
long Mortgage Backed Security and short government bonds and other financial instruments or
contracts.
Styles
Fixed Income Diversified
A Diversified style which typically holds long positions, but may also invest on the short side, in
debt securities. This includes government, corporate and other types of debt instruments, fixed
income options and credit derivatives. Funds will attempt to profit from credit/yield opportunities.
Emerging Market Debt
An Emerging Market investment style that invests primarily in fixed income securities in emerging
markets. These areas include parts of Asia and the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Latin
America and Africa.
Asset-Backed Securities
A Fixed Income Directional investment style in which funds will invest in securities backed by notes
or receivables against assets other than real estate. Some examples are auto loans, credit cards and
royalties.
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Styles
Distressed Securities
An Event Driven investment style that attempts to invest in companies whose stock price is being
unfairly punished due to financial, legal or operating difficulties, like reorganization, restructuring,
bankruptcy. The manager feels a security’s price will change rapidly due to a stock buyback, bond
upgrade, spin-off or earnings surprise. Investments may be made through equity, debt or other
securities. Funds focused on distressed debt may also use the terms ‘high-yield’ or ‘junk bonds’ to
refer to the non-investment grade debt securities they invest in. Although distressed debt is usually
considered a step below high-yield, for the purposes of classification we will place high yield funds
into the Distressed Securities peer group.
Merger Arbitrage
An Event Driven investment style that attempts to exploit pricing inefficiencies in Merger &
Acquisition events. Merger Arbitrage funds seek to capture the price spread between the current
market price of a security and its value after a successfully completed merger transaction. Funds
usually invest short in the acquiring company and invest long in the acquired company, continually
modifying their positions as the merger process moves forward. This is because when mergers or
acquisitions are announced, there is a general trend for the acquiring company’s stock value to
drop and the acquired company’s stock value to rise.
Activist
Activist managers typically buy large stakes in a handful of corporations. These managers seek to
obtain representation of the company’s board of directors in an effort to impact or change the
company’s policies or direction. Activist managers will look to advocate activities such as division or
asset sales, partial or complete corporate divestiture, dividend or share buybacks, and changes in
management. Activist strategies employ an investment process primarily focused on opportunities
in equity and equity related instruments of companies which are currently or prospectively
engaged in a corporate transaction, security issuance/repurchase, asset sales, division spin-off or
other catalyst oriented situation.
Special Situation
Special Situation Funds employ a portfolio construction primarily focused on opportunities in
equity and equity related instruments of companies which are currently engaged in corporate
transactions, security issuance and/or repurchase, asset sales, division spin-off or other catalyst
oriented situation. These involve both announced transactions as well as situations in which no
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formal announcement is expected to occur. Strategies employ an investment process that will
focus on companies with corporate actions that are impacting an individual capital structure,
primarily on situations identified via fundamental research which are likely to result in corporate
transactions. Special situation funds will typically have at least 60% of their portfolio comprised of
equity securities.
Event Driven Diversified
An Event Driven strategy attempts to take advantage of pricing fluctuations of securities due to
corporate events or actions. This includes Special Situations, Merger Arbitrage, Activist, and
Distressed Strategies. These situations include but are not limited to corporate restructuring,
mergers, takeovers, financial distress, tender offers, liquidations, bankruptcy, spinoffs, re-
organizations or other capital structure adjustments. Portfolio construction is made on a set of
fundamental characteristics as opposed to quantitative. The risks can include exposure to credit
markets, equity markets, as well as company specific events.
Strategy: Multi-Strategy
Funds which utilize multiple investment strategies and/or multiple investment styles will be categorized as
such. Some funds employ several strategies within their own portfolio, while others will invest their assets in
other hedge funds that run the desired investment strategy/style (Fund of Funds).If there are funds whose
investment strategies/styles are so unique that they do not fit into an existing peer group, or if there are not
enough funds with the same strategy/style to warrant their own peer group, then they will be categorized
under Multi-Strategy/Multi-Style.
Styles
Multi Strategy
Funds utilizing multiple investment strategies.
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Styles
Currency
Currency Strategies will include both discretionary and systematic managers looking to capitalize
on inefficiencies with the currency market. Portfolio composition will consist of positions in the
currency and global foreign exchange markets comprising at least 60% of their portfolio. These
managers will actively trade in both developed and emerging markets.
Discretionary
Futures and options contracts of equity and debt securities, and commodities. These strategies
employ an investment process heavily influenced by top down analysis of macroeconomic
variables. Discretionary Portfolios are built on underlying themes developed by the portfolio
managers.
Systematic
Systematic strategies will construct a portfolio based primarily on the futures and options contracts
of equity and debt securities, and commodities. Managers will use mathematical, algorithmic, and
technical models, with little or no influence of individuals over the portfolio positioning. The
Manager will identify opportunities in markets exhibiting trending or momentum characteristics
across futures and options markets in various assets classes. The portfolio will generally maintain
shorter holding periods than that of a discretionary currency portfolio.
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To provide further granularity to the Bloomberg Funds Classification System, the selection of Industry Focus,
Geographic Focus, Economic Association and General Attributes allows us to accurately account for unique
fund specific characteristics. This enables us to create precise Bloomberg Fund Objectives and ultimately
combine to provide tighter peer groups for accurate ranking.
The Non Asset Class Specific criteria can also be used independent of the classification system to output
results from the fund screening tool FSRC<GO>. For example, this can be used to search for all emerging
market funds or all funds that focus their investments on precious metals.
Industry Focus
This is the industry (sector) the fund targets for investment as stated in the prospectus. Only one industry
may be selected.
Materials
Comprises funds which invest in companies that are in a wide range of commodity-related
manufacturing industries. Included in this sector are companies that manufacture chemicals,
construction materials, glass, paper, forest products and related packaging products, and metals,
minerals and mining companies, including producers of steel.
Communications
Comprises funds which invest in companies that provide communications services primarily through a
fixed-line, cellular, wireless, high bandwidth and/or fibre optic cable network
Consumer Staples
Comprises funds which invest in companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles. It
includes manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and tobacco and producers of non-durable
household goods and personal products. It also includes food & drug retailing companies, as well as
hypermarkets and consumer super-centres.
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Consumer Discretionary
Comprises funds which invest in those industries that tend to be the most sensitive to economic cycles.
Its manufacturing segment includes automotive, household durable goods, textiles, apparel and leisure
equipment. The services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media
production and services and consumer retailing.
Energy
Comprises funds which invest in companies whose businesses are dominated by either of the following
activities: the construction or provision of oil rigs, drilling equipment and other energy related service
and equipment, including seismic data collection. Companies engaged in the exploration, production,
marketing, refining and/or transportation of oil and gas products.
Financial
Comprises funds which invest in companies involved in activities such as banking, mortgage finance,
consumer finance, specialized finance, investment banking and brokerage, asset management and
custody, corporate lending, insurance, and financial investments.
Industrials
Comprises funds which invest in companies whose businesses are dominated by one of the following
activities: The manufacture and distribution of capital goods, including aerospace & defence,
construction, engineering & building products, electrical equipment and industrial machinery. The
provision of transportation services, including airlines, couriers, marine, road & rail and transportation
infrastructure.
Technology
Comprises funds which invest in companies following general areas:
o Technology Software & Services, including companies that primarily develop software in
various fields such as the Internet, applications, systems, database management and/or home
entertainment and companies that provide information, technology consulting and services, as
well as data processing and outsourced services
o Technology Hardware & Equipment, including manufacturers and distributors of
communications equipment, computers & peripherals, electronic equipment and related
instruments
o Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturers
Utilities
Comprises funds which invest in companies considered electric, gas or water utilities, or companies
that operate as independent producers and/or distributors of power. This sector includes both nuclear
and non-nuclear facilities.
Health Care
Comprises funds which invest in two main industry groups. The first includes companies who
manufacture health care equipment and supplies or provide health care related services, including
distributors of health care products, providers of basic health-care services, and owners and operators
of health care facilities and organizations. The second includes companies primarily involved in
research, development, production and marketing of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products.
Thematic
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Funds that invest by following a certain social, economic or corporate, demographic, or other themes
that are popular in society. Currently, some popular themes are environmental and clean investing,
agriculture, infrastructure, religiously responsible, fighting disease, and socially-responsible investing,
as well as companies affected by globalization.
Real Estate
Comprises funds which invest predominately in equity securities engaged in the real estate industry
Geographic Focus
The geographical area the fund intends to invest in. Selections can include Region, Country and State choices.
Multiple/Unlimited number of selections is permitted.
Business Rule: If the document says the fund invests in Hong Kong H shares, geo focus = China
Region Focus
African
An Africa Region fund will invest solely in African countries. The countries that comprise this region will be
located within the African continent.
ASEAN Countries
ASEAN is an acronym for the Association of South East Asian Nations. An ASEAN Countries fund will invest
solely in the ASEAN countries. The following countries are included as ASEAN:
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Asian Pacific
An Asian Pacific Region fund will invest solely in Pac Rim countries. The following countries are included in the
Pacific Region:
Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand,
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Asian Pacific Excluding Japan
An Asian Pacific Region excluding Japan fund will invest solely in Pac Rim countries excluding Japan. The
following countries are included in the Pacific Region Excluding Japan:
Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
BRIC
A BRIC fund will invest a combination of Brazil, Russia, India and China. This category will include BRICT where
as the “T” stands for Turkey. BRICT should have the BRIC region selected and the country Turkey should be
selected as well.
CEE
Central & Eastern Europe
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Eastern European
An Eastern European Region fund will invest solely in Eastern European countries. The following countries are
included in the Eastern European Region:
Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia,
and Ukraine.
EMEA
An EMEA fund invests in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
European Region
A European Region fund will invest solely in European countries. The following countries are included in the
European Region:
European Excluding UK
A European Region excluding UK fund invests solely in European Region countries, except for the UK.
European Union
European Union Region funds will invest solely in the European Union. The following are included in the
European Union: Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Spain,
Finland, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Germany, UK, Sweden, Estonia, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia,
Luxembourg, Latvia, Netherlands, Lithuania.
Euro zone
A Euro zone fund will target investment based on an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17 European
Union (EU) member states which have adopted the euro currency as their sole legal tender. It currently
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consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia (eff 1/1/2011), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
GCC
Gulf Cooperation Council is a political and economic union involving the six Arab states of the Persian Gulf
with many economic and social objectives. Members include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates.
Global
A Global Equity fund investment will include securities from inside, as well as, outside the home country of
fund.
Greater China
The Greater China funds invest in mainland China which includes China, Hong Kong and Macau. Some
companies may include Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia in the mix.
Iberian
An Iberian Peninsula Region fund will invest solely in Iberian countries. The following countries are included in
the Iberian Peninsula Region:
Spain and Portugal.
Indian Subcontinent
An Indian Sub-Continent Region fund will invest solely in Indian Sub-Continent countries. The following
countries are included in the Indian Sub-Continent Region: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
International
An International Equity fund invests solely outside of the home country of the fund.
Latin America
A Latin America Region fund will invest solely in Latin America countries.
The following countries are included in the Latin America Region:
Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe,
Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,
Uruguay, and Venezuela.
MENA
A Middle East Region fund will invest in Middle East and North African countries.
Middle East
A Middle East Region fund will invest solely in Middle East countries.
Nordic
A Nordic Region fund will invest solely in Nordic countries. The following countries are included in the Nordic
Region: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
North American
A North America Region fund will invest solely in North American countries. The following countries are
included in the North America Region: Canada and the United States.
Oceania
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An Oceania Region fund will invest solely in Oceania countries. The Oceania Region includes the islands of the
southern, western, and central Pacific, including Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and sometimes Australia,
New Zealand, and the Malay Archipelago.
OECD Countries
OECD is an acronym for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. An OECD Countries
fund will invest solely in the OECD countries. The following countries are included as OECD countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom,
United States.
Tiger
A Tiger Region fund will invest solely in Tiger countries. The following countries are included in the Tiger
Region: Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and the
Philippines.
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Country Focus
Countries will be selected when the fund invests in those countries but are not captured as a region selection.
For example, a fund that invests in Europe and the US would have both Europe selected as a region and US
selected as a country – each European country would not be selected even if they are listed.
Business Rule: Geo focus is not a mandatory field. However for the below-mentioned countries, an
assumption of the geo focus can be made when no geo focus is mentioned in the document
These are one of the 50 US states which are used to categorise municipal bond funds.
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Economic Association
Emerging Markets
An Emerging Markets fund invests the majority of its assets in the bonds of a group of developing
countries. For the most part, these countries are in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin
America, the Far East and Asia. A developing country is characterized as being vulnerable to political
and economic instability, having low average per-capita incomes, and as being in the process of
building its industrial and commercial base.
Emerging Markets Local Currency
An Emerging Markets fund investing in fixed income securities principally denominated in currencies of
developing countries.
Developed Markets
An equity fund investing internationally/globally where the document specifically states the fund is
investing in “developed markets” or the phrase “Developed Markets” is in the fund name.
General Attributes
Guaranteed Fund
Funds that guarantee the initial value invested. The fund will have a guarantor.
Index Fund
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An Index fund typically seeks to replicate the performance of an Index by investing in those same
securities that compose the Index.
Islamic
Funds that are 100% Sharia compliant
Natural Resources
Funds concentrating on investments in securities of companies engaged in the
exploration/development of natural resources.
Religiously Responsible
Funds investing in securities of companies that do not violate the core beliefs of a particular religion.
Socially Responsible
Funds investing in securities of companies meeting socially responsible standards.
Structured Funds
Also called formula funds. The fund is managed to obtain a specific return at the end of a set period by
applying a predefined calculation based on financial market indicators or financial instruments, and
also to distribute income determined in the same way. The Fund may guarantee the initial value
invested plus an additional amount based on an underlying portfolio/basket of securities. The
investment objective can be guaranteed by a credit institution. The actual investments of the Fund can
be completely unrelated from the portfolio/basket of securities outlined in the objective.
Tax Managed
A fund in which investment earnings are constantly reinvested. Since the fund does not bring the
investor any profits, the investor does not have to pay taxes on the fund’s increased value
Precious Metals
Funds concentrating their investments within the precious metals sector such as gold, silver and
platinum.
Biofuels
Liquid transportation fuels including biodiesel and bioethanol. These can be derived from a range of
biomass sources, including sugar cane, rape seed, soybean oil or cellulose. Our database excludes
producers of base biomass, but includes suppliers of everything from the processing technologies and
equipment, through the logistics of distribution, to manufacturers of energy systems which are
specially adapted for the use of biofuels and products, and the services on which they depend.
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feedstock producers and traders, logistic companies, power generation equipment providers and
energy producers.
Carbon Capture and Storage
Given the very substantial energy appetites of China, India and the US, and the substantial amounts of
coal and natural gas available in those countries, it is highly unlikely that they will move rapidly enough
to clean and renewable energy sources. One type of technology may allow us to continue using these
fuels without adding to the emissions of CO2. Carbon capture and storage technologies involve the
separation of CO2 from the exhaust stream from the burning of fossil fuels, and its long-term storage,
either in depleted oil and gas fields, under the ocean or elsewhere.
Carbon Markets
The nascent markets for carbon emission credits in Europe and elsewhere are spawning a whole
infrastructure of service companies around brokerage, trading and information.
Efficiency: Built Environment
This sector covers a range of technologies that reduce the use of energy in homes, retail and
commercial buildings. Such technologies include advanced insulation, building components, HVAC,
lighting and intelligent systems for managing power consumption, as well as the tools and services that
allow companies to design and implement energy-smart buildings.
Efficiency: Digital Energy
This sector covers applications of information and communications technology to improving the
efficiency and intelligence of the transportation and usage of energy. Smart metering, smart grid,
demand response, self-healing grids, virtual power plants and home/building automation are examples
of digital energy applications.
Efficiency: Industry
This sector includes technologies used to streamline and save resources in industrial processes. Process
control and monitoring, sensors and software, and waste-heat recovery are crucial technologies. Also
efficiency step changes in industrial equipment such as blast furnaces will be covered as well as
industrial energy service companies.
Efficiency: Supply Side
This sector covers technologies that result in a step-change improvement in the efficiency of
generation and transmission systems. Important areas for development are motor or generator design,
as well as software, sensor and control technologies. Potentially important technologies in improving
transmission efficiency are high-voltage-direct-current (HVDC), high-voltage-alternating-current (HVAC)
and high-temperature-superconductors (HTS).
Efficiency: Transportation
This sector covers technologies that reduce the use of fuel consumption associated with all types of
transportation. Key technologies include electric or hybrid vehicles, electric vehicle infrastructure,
combustion efficiency technologies such as new engine designs, superchargers and fuel additives.
Transportation efficiency does not include biofuels, LNG or CNG. Power storage technologies relating
to electric or hybrid vehicles will remain classified under Power Storage.
Fuel Cells
Many observers believe that fuel cells will lie at the heart of any post-fossil energy architecture.
Although they have been around for 150 years and their performance is not in doubt, their high
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manufacturing costs and low reliability mean that they have yet to capture any mass markets. A large
number of companies and research initiatives are hoping to change that over the coming decade. We
draw a distinction between the hydrogen industry and the fuel cell sector: fuel cells can burn a variety
of hydrocarbon fuels, and hydrogen can be used by other systems, such as internal combustion
engines. There is, however, substantial crossover between the two sectors.
General Financial & Legal Services
Companies in this sector are general service providers, which are not themselves part of the clean
energy industry, but which serve it. We add this sector so that we can track those organizations, even
though they do not belong to any particular sector of the clean energy industry.
Geothermal
Geothermal power has long played a part in the energy mix of countries with obvious geothermal
resources, such as Iceland and Japan. Recent advances in two areas, however, mean that geothermal
energy can play an increasing role worldwide: new drilling techniques allow users to tap into resources
that had been too deep to access; and new ways of extracting useful power from lower temperature
geothermal fields allow productive use of resources that could not have been used economically in the
past.
Government & NGO
This sector is for governmental organizations, NGOs and the like which are not themselves part of the
clean energy industry but which interact with it. The reason we need this sector is that we need to
track the activities of these organizations, but they cannot be allocated to clean energy sectors.
Hydrogen
The hydrogen sector covers everything from the production and storage of hydrogen, through its
distribution and the various technologies and applications in which it can be used. Hydrogen is not, of
course, a renewable fuel source - it is only a carrier of energy, in the same way electricity is not a
source but a carrier of power. But if produced renewably hydrogen looks like a promising candidate to
replace fossil fuels in transport as these are depleted, and governments and corporations are investing
accordingly.
Marine
The marine sector covers all technologies relating to extraction of energy from the sea. Possibilities
include waves and tide, either via tidal barrages or tidal flow generators. Note that exploitation of
marine biomass would be categorized in biomass, rather than in this sector.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear provides 70% of the carbon-free electricity generated in the world today. With global energy
consumption projected to increase 160% by 2050, an expanding nuclear energy industry will provide
the world's economies a cost-effective solution to base load electricity generation without large new
emissions of carbon dioxide.
Power Storage
This sector covers technologies such as batteries, flywheels and ultra-capacitors, which can store and
release energy in the form of electricity. These technologies, by decoupling generation and usage,
facilitate more effective and economical matching of demand and are key enablers for any shift in
many intermittent renewable and emerging energy technologies.
Services & Support (Clean Energy)
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The rapid growth of the clean energy industry will require the development of a complete sector of
service companies dedicated to serving the needs of technology and equipment suppliers, owners of
renewable energy and biofuels assets, and so on. In this sector we put providers of information and
research (such as ourselves), financial services companies, lawyers and consultants, green utilities,
carbon exchanges and the like.
Small Hydro
There may seem little new about hydroelectric power. Indeed at New Energy Finance we don't cover
large-scale hydroelectric power projects. However, there are interesting developments in small-scale
and low-head hydro power, and even very small scale hydro solutions. Hydro power is undergoing a
renaissance and has a lot to contribute to the deployment of renewable energy globally.
Solar
The Solar sector covers all technologies which capture energy directly from the sun. These include
direct production of electricity using semiconductor-based photovoltaic (PV) materials, use of
concentrated sunlight to heat fluid to drive power generation equipment (solar thermal electricity
generation or STEG), and passive methods which use solar to replace fossil fuel energy, for example to
heat water. The photovoltaic sector is the largest of these in terms of investment volume, while
passive is the largest in terms of fuel saved and carbon dioxide emissions reduced globally. However,
PV is expected to dramatically reduce costs through new technologies and increased manufacturing
scale, and is expected to break into new areas of energy demand over the coming decades.
Wind
Wind is the renewable technology that has had the biggest impact on our energy usage patterns over
the past decade. The next decade will see continued activity, particularly in developing countries and
offshore. The Wind sector includes components and subassemblies for wind turbines as well as
manufacturers of turbines themselves. A big part of this sector, however, consists of the various
developers, generators, utilities and engineering firms that have sprung up to exploit opportunities to
build wind farms around the world.
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Fund
Type
Offshore
Country
UCITS of
domicile
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