Amundi is to downgrade the ESG classification of many of its sustainable funds.

Amundi is to reclassify most of its funds listed as EU SFDR Article 9, the firm told Bloomberg. Instead, the funds will be classified as Article 8. The move comes after many leading asset managers have been forced to downgrade the ESG classification of their funds following increased scrutiny of SFDR interpretation.

Since 2021, the EU has said that Article 9 designation is for funds that are 100% sustainable.

A spokesperson for Amundi said, “the move in no way calls into question the current level of requirements in terms of the integration of effective ESG criteria and the sustainability characteristics of these funds. This deliberately cautious approach is in response to Amundi’s concern for protecting investors and distributors from a significant risk of confusion in the allocation of savings.”