What is the fund called “relationship”?

The Relance brand was launched a year ago to encourage the French to direct the savings accumulated during the health crisis towards financing small and medium businesses. What is a fund called Relance and how do I access it?

What is the fund called “relationship”?

The health crisis has put many French companies in difficulty. To encourage the French to direct the savings accumulated during the health crisis towards financing small and medium-sized businesses, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finance, launched in October 2020 the “Relance” label. This designation allows savers to identify Collective Investment Organizations (OPCs) that provide a response to the financing needs of French companies, whether listed or not, thus mobilizing savings for recovery.

To be called “Relance,” the funds must commit to rapidly mobilizing new resources to support equity and quasi-equity for French SMEs. They must also comply with a set of Environmental, Social and Good Governance (ESG) standards, including in particular a ban on coal financing and monitoring of an ESG rating or index.

Relance rated funds must invest at least 30% of their assets in French companies, including at least 10% in equity in French very small (VSE) and small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) or medium-sized companies ( ETI).

Type 2 “Relance” rated funds must invest at least 60% of their assets in French companies, including at least 20% in equity in VSEs, SMEs or ETIs.

Where can I find funds called “Relance”?

Relance-branded funds can take various forms: UCITS, private equity funds (FPCR, FCPI, FIP), alternative funds, etc., and are particularly accessible in unit-linked life insurance contracts, PERs , Securities Accounts and PEA. The list of classified funds is regularly updated on the website of the Ministry of Economy. By their nature, these funds present a risk of significant capital loss.

A year after the poster was released, where are we?

Just over a year after the label was created, there are more than 200 Relance funds, managed by more than 110 management companies, that now allow each saver to select an investment that allows them to participate in the relaunch. More than half of classified funds can be obtained as part of a PEA, PEA-PME, employee savings plan, or even life insurance, with a third of classified funds accessible as a base unit account.

There are 73 UCITS funds and 30 private equity funds accessible to non-professional investors, including innovative funds, which are accessible through life insurance and which do not involve locking in their savings over an extended period.

In October 2021, all funds under the Relance name represented more than 16 billion euros invested in stocks or quasi-equities in French companies and 22.4 billion euros in assets under management. The rated funds are 72% invested in French companies and 52% in SMEs and mid-sized companies, and have enabled participation in more than 300 capital increases and initial public offerings.