Geographical Focus

The geographical focus defines the geographical risk of the bond issuers, not the market where bonds are traded. For example, if a corporation issues a bond that is exchanged in the US and has operations in Germany it will be classified as “Germany” and not “US”. This is important because the performance of the bond will be tied to the geographical risk, not the bond country of exchange.

The geographical focus can be either a single country such as Germany, or a region such as Europe. 

When there is no specific geographical focus, the fund is classified as “No specific geographical focus”. However, if the fund aims to give the investor global exposure, it is classified as “World”.Geographical Focus Breakdown

The following list gives a clear view of the classification:

Single country

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued by companies in a specific country.

World

For ETFs that aim to give investors a global exposure.

Developed Markets

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued in developed countries.

Emerging Markets

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued in emerging countries.

Emerging Markets Asia

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued in Asian emerging countries.

North America

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued in North America.

Europe 

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued in Europe.

Eurozone

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued by country members of the European Monetary Union.

Asia

For ETFs that aim to give investors exposure to bonds issued in Asia 

No specific geographical focus

For ETFs that do not target any specific geographical focus across the underlying bonds.