ETFs set for inclusion in the IA sectors

Thursday 23 May 2019

The Investment Association (IA) has today given the green light for exchange traded funds (ETFs) to join the IA sectors.

Savers and their advisers will be able to compare ETFs against the 3,500 funds already in the IA’s 37 fund sectors from the first quarter of next year.

The ETFs will be placed within the existing IA sectors, which enable comparison between open ended funds by dividing them into groups of similar funds based on factors such as asset class, investment strategy and geographical region.

With over 200 ETFs eligible to apply, the IA is now inviting formal applications from ETF providers for their funds to be classified into the sectors. Consistent with the current approach, only ETFs that are either UK domiciled, or are EU UCITs with HMRC reporting fund status will be included.

Commenting on the inclusion of ETFs in the sectors, Galina Dimitrova, Director of Investment and Capital Markets at the Investment Association said:

“We want to ensure that the IA sectors reflect the full range of products the asset management industry has to offer savers around the world. ETFs are a growing part of this market and their inclusion in the sectors will enable consumers to compare across a wider variety of products.”

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Notes to Editors

• The IA’s public consultation on the inclusion of ETFs in the IA sectors ran between 29 November 2018 and 1 February 2019.
• Only physical replication ETFs will be eligible for inclusion in the IA sectors. ETF providers should submit their applications by 14 August 2019 for inclusion in the initial batch of ETFs to be added to the IA sectors, after which they will be added on a rolling basis.
• For more information on the IA sectors, click here.
• For more information on ETFs, the IA has produced in partnership with Dechert ‘ETFs: A Beginner's Guide’.

For further information, please contact:

For media, to receive the full consultation document, please contact Helen Ayres

Helen Ayres, Communications Manager: [email protected]

T +44 (0)20 7269 4620; M +44 (0)7508 724 066

IA press office: [email protected]

About the Investment Association (IA):

• The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and the asset management industry supports 100,000 jobs across the UK.
• Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.
• Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to: o Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
• o Help people achieve their financial aspirations
• o Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
• o Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital.
• The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.
• The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages 35% of all assets managed in Europe.