ABI Life and Pension Funds: The ABI Sectors

What is the purpose of the ABI Sectors?

The ABI Sectors are a system for the classification of life and pension funds. Every sector sets clear criteria that must be followed by funds wishing to belong to that sector. We introduced the ABI Sectors in 1997 to ensure that life and pensions funds operating similar investment strategies are grouped together so that consumers and financial advisers can compare them on a like-for-like basis.

The range of investment funds on offer is increasing. The ABI Sectors now contain over 8,000 life and pension investment funds, representing over £700 billion in assets under management.

Following a detailed review in 2007, we updated the ABI Sectors and included new fund sectors; for a detailed description of the 34 ABI Sectors and the 2007 review see the document on the right hand side of this page. Subsequent to the review the Investment Classification Committee produced additional guidance for the Money Market sector and made a minor amendment to the definition. The guidance and revised definition can also be read or downloaded from the right hand side of this page.

To find out your pension or life fund’s sector allocation click here

This tool, provided in conjunction with Financial Express, will help you find the sector your fund belongs to and other funds within that sector. The tool also allows you to find out which providers over funds in particular sectors. At present, this search tool does not provide access to performance data (these can be found on data vendor websites or in specialist financial publications, such as Money Management and Moneyfacts). 

Do the sectors explain risk?

No, the sectors are not designed to reflect the relative risk of funds. They are designed to group together funds that are similar, so that they may be compared on a like for like basis.

How are the ABI Sectors managed?

The ABI’s Investment Classification Committee (ICC) acts as the impartial governance mechanism for the ABI Sectors. The ICC is made up of experts from ABI member companies and fund data providers and meets every two months.

The ICC is responsible for developing the criteria for the Sectors. It also monitors whether investment funds comply with these criteria.

This monitoring process involves a detailed analysis of the assets held by a fund to ensure each fund continues to meet the criteria for the sector and is therefore comparable with other funds in that sector. To do this, ICC checks detailed fund-monitoring reports. The ICC has appointed Lipper, an independent funds information company, to assist in the monitoring process.

The data vendor Financial Express has been appointed to manage the master sector classification database. This is to help ensure that there are consistent sector populations across data vendors and the wider marketplace.