EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)

The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is a European Union regulation that came into effect on 10 March 2021 and governs how financial market participants disclose sustainability-related information. SFDR aims to improve transparency and consistency of sustainability-related disclosures, enabling investors to make more informed comparisons between financial products. Sustainability disclosures include information on sustainability risks and, where applicable, environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics for financial products, so that investors can assess how sustainability risks are integrated into the investment process.

The information on this page describes our approach to SFDR and includes our policies and procedures, disclosed in accordance with these rules.

Many of our clients are also subject to these requirements. In addition to our disclosures in prospectuses, annual reports and on this website, we will provide our clients with the information they require to comply with their own SFDR obligations.

SFDR is part of the EU’s wider Sustainable Finance framework, which is supported by a broad set of enhanced regulations which apply across the region. The framework includes the Sustainable Finance Action Plan, which aims to promote sustainable investment across the EU, and the EU Taxonomy Regulation, a classification system that defines which economic activities can be considered environmentally sustainable against detailed regulatory criteria.

SFDR sets out different disclosure requirements for financial products based on the criteria set out in specific Articles of the Regulation. The characteristics and objectives of a financial product establishes what levels of disclosures need to be made.

Article 9 products have sustainable investment as their objective and are subject to the most detailed sustainability disclosure requirements.

Article 8 products promote environmental or social characteristics, or a combination of these, provided that the companies in which investments are made follow good governance practices. While Article 8 products may make sustainable investments, they don’t necessarily have a sustainable investment goal so they are subject to a corresponding level of disclosure.

Article 6 products do not promote environmental or social characteristics and do not have sustainable investment as their objective. While they may still consider sustainability risks as part of the investment process, they are subject to a lower level of sustainability-related disclosure than Article 8 and Article 9 products and they may not be promoted as funds with sustainability characteristics.

For financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics, financial market participants are required to publish specific product disclosures for funds subject to Articles 8 and 9 of SFDR (as set out in Article 10(1)).

To meet the requirements set out under Article 5 of the SFDR, we have published additional information on remuneration and ESG in our IFPR Disclosures.