'The great reclassification' strikes Article 9 funds as second SFDR phase approaches

January 2023

Industry commentators are divided on whether there will be further downgrades of Article 9 funds ahead of the next wave of European regulation in January.

The question has been raised following the recent spate of reclassifications, although the onus will be on fund providers to make any "downgrade details clear" in order to avoid mis-selling accusations. More than 1,500 Article 9 funds at risk of losing status In recent weeks, Amundi, BlackRock, Axa, Invesco, NN Investment Partners, Pimco, Neuberger Berman, Robeco and Deka have all downgraded ‘dark green' Article 9 funds to ‘light green' Article 8 status in preparation for the European Union's next Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation deadline, in what is being dubbed ‘the great r...