The European Fund Classification (EFC), a pan-European classification system of investment funds overseen by industry trade body EFAMA, has significantly expanded its coverage to reach close to 180,000 fund share classes across most European countries.

EFAMA is the European Fund and Asset Management Association, the voice of the European investment management industry, which manages around €30 trillion of assets on behalf of its clients in Europe and around the world.

“The vast majority of European funds now have an EFC classification,” said EFAMA.

“This includes several novel fund categories, taking on board recent market evolutions.

“At the most granular level, there are currently more than 880 fund subcategories included in the EFC.”

During the latest update, the following categories were added: Crypto asset funds; FX funds; and ultra-short bond funds.

“The EFC is the only classification scheme that is owned and managed solely by the fund industry,” said EFAMA.

“It is completely free of charge, both for fund groups/managers and for data users. The entire classification process is done on a non-monetary basis, with results freely available to all interested users via the EFC webpage or bespoke feeds.”

Thomas Tilley, Senior Economist at EFAMA, said: “The recent leap in the number of EFC classified funds  further establishes it as THE credible and comprehensive fund classification scheme for Europe.

“In the current Value for Money (VfM) discussions, it looks possible that some form of peer comparison to evaluate whether funds are indeed providing value for money will be mandated.

“The EFC, as the only industry-driven, transparent and fully objective pan-European fund classification scheme, could form the basis of such a peer comparison.”