Morningstar's 'SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 Funds in Review' is a quarterly series offering the latest insights and analysis on the €11.7 trillion ($13.6 trillion) EU open-end fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) market under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Led by Hortense Bioy, Morningstar Sustainalytics' head of sustainable investing research, the report series examines data on Article 8 and Article 9 fund flows, assets, product launches, closures, reclassifications, sustainable investment allocations, taxonomy-alignment, alongside analysis of key regulatory and thematic developments.

The Q2 2025 edition provided in-depth analysis on rising exposure to the defence sector within sustainable funds and the wave of fund renamings prompted by the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) new naming guidelines.

In Q2 alone, Morningstar found that over 600 Article 8 and 9 funds changed names, including funds that dropped, swapped, or added ESG-related terms. Over the past 18 months, nearly 1,300 funds have been renamed – roughly 28% of those in scope of the ESMA guidelines. The report also highlights the most frequently removed and newly added terms.

One IMPACT Investment Awards judge called the series, which has been running for almost five years, "very insightful with unique and useful datapoints for market participants and policy markets" and praised its "strong audience outreach".