ESG Fund Naming Guidelines and ESG Fund Naming
Sustainalytics releases ESG Fund Naming Guidelines and ESG Fund Naming Report, aiming to analyze the impact of the European ESG Fund Naming Guidelines on ESG fund names.
In 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority released ESG fund naming guidelines, requiring funds to use ESG and sustainable terms in their names and sales documents, and requiring asset management companies to ensure compliance after May 21, 2025.
Related Post: European Securities and Markets Authority Releases Guidelines on ESG Fund Names
Change in ESG Fund Name
The European Securities and Markets Authority believes that fund names are important signals of fund investment strategies, and adding ESG terms to fund names will increase net inflows. In May 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority released ESG fund naming guidelines, which stipulate that using ESG terminology requires investing at least 80% of funds in assets with ESG characteristics, using sustainable terminology requires investing at least 50% of funds in sustainable assets, and using impact terminology requires generating positive and measurable impact.
Sustainalytics conducted a one-year survey on ESG and sustainability funds within the European Union (from the release of the guidelines in May 2024 to May 2025) and found that the number of these funds decreased from 4570 to 4220. This change is partly due to asset management companies removing ESG terms from fund names, and partly due to fund mergers and liquidations. Statistical data shows a decrease in sustainable, ESG, and socially responsible investment terms, while terms such as climate and transition have increased.

From May 2024 to May 2025, 880 ESG funds added, modified, or deleted ESG terms, of which 508 funds deleted ESG terms, 304 funds changed ESG terms, and 68 funds added ESG terms. The name changes of most funds occur in the first and second quarters of 2025, which are gradually approaching the deadline required by the ESG fund naming guidelines. Among all funds with name changes, Article 8 funds account for approximately 90%.

Change in Climate, Transition and Sustainable Fund
Many ESG funds have added climate and transition terms to their fund names, but the number of funds using transition is still relatively small, which may be due to fewer restrictions on using the Climate Transition Benchmark and more restrictions on using the Paris Agreement Benchmark. Transition funds need to disclose clear and measurable transition paths, requiring ESG funds to conduct additional due diligence, which poses challenges to fund costs and compliance.
Among the 1245 funds that use sustainable investment terminology, 241 have removed or replaced this term. Among the funds that continue to retain sustainable investment terminology, 70% have disclosed at least 50% of their sustainable investments in their annual reports (meeting the threshold for using sustainable terminology). Some jurisdictions have set thresholds of 80% or 85%, which impose higher requirements on sustainable investment funds. Asset management companies can also adjust the proportion of sustainable investment based on their definition of sustainable investment.
Reference:
ESMA Fund Naming Guidelines Early Insights
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