fund_rfid_data/ESMA_FUND_DATA_RESEARCH.md

ESMA Fund Data: Registers, APIs, and Reference Data Fields

1. Overview: ESMA's Fund Data Ecosystem

ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) maintains six distinct data systems relevant to fund data. Unlike the US SEC which centralizes prospectus filing and structured extraction, ESMA's fund data is fragmented across regulatory registers focused on authorization, cross-border notification, and instrument identification rather than on prospectus content.

System	Content	Access	Fund Relevance
Fund Register (AIF/EuSEF/EuVECA)	Authorized AIF funds & managers	Solr API (JSON/XML)	Direct - fund-level identity
Cross-border Marketing Register (UCITS + AIF)	Fund passporting notifications	Solr API (JSON/XML)	Direct - UCITS & AIF cross-border data
Entity Register (MiFID/UCITS/AIFMD)	Management companies, AIFMs	Solr API (JSON/XML)	Manager-level data
FIRDS (Financial Instruments Reference Data)	MiFIR instrument reference data	XML bulk files + API	Instrument-level (ISIN, CFI)
Prospectus Register (Prospectus Regulation III)	Approved EU prospectuses + supplements	Solr API (JSON/XML)	Securities prospectuses (not fund KIIDs)
Money Market Fund Register	MMF authorizations	Solr API (JSON/XML)	MMF-specific

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2. Fund Register: AIF/EuSEF/EuVECA Funds

API Endpoint

https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_funds/select?q=...&wt=json

Available Fields

Field Name	Type	Description	openfunds Equivalent
funds_national_name	text	Fund name (national identifier name)	OFST010110 Legal Fund Name
funds_lei	text	LEI of the fund	OFST010030 LEI Of Fund
funds_legal_framework_name	text	Legal framework: AIF, EuSEF, EuVECA	OFST160100 Legal Form
funds_other_legal_framework_name	text	Additional legal framework info	—
funds_status_code_name	text	Fund authorization status	—
funds_mgmnt_structure_code_name	text	Management structure type	OFST010420 Open-ended/Closed-ended
funds_domicile_cou_code_name	text	Fund domicile country	OFST010010 Fund Domicile
funds_mgmnt_status_code_name	text	Management status	—
funds_manager_nat_name	text	Management company name	OFST001020 ManCo
funds_manager_lei	text	Manager LEI	—
funds_manager_cou_code_name	text	Manager country	—
funds_manager_legal_framework_name	text	Manager legal framework	—
funds_host_country_code_name	text	Host member states (marketing countries)	OFST6000XX Country registrations
funds_fund_mrkt_status_code_name	text	Marketing status per country	—
funds_notification_event1_date	date	First notification date	—
funds_notification_event2_date	date	Second notification date	—
funds_notif_legal_framework_name	text	Notification legal framework	—
funds_ca_cou_code_name	text	Competent authority country	OFST010060 Supervisory Authority

Example API Call (all AIF funds, JSON format)

curl "https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_funds/select?q=type_s:*&fq=funds_legal_framework_name:%22AIF%22&fl=funds_national_name,funds_lei,funds_domicile_cou_code_name,funds_manager_nat_name,funds_manager_lei&rows=100&wt=json&indent=true"

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3. Cross-border Marketing Register (UCITS + AIF)

API Endpoint

https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_funds_cbdif/select?q=...&wt=json

Same field structure as the Fund Register above, but covers UCITS funds as well. This is the only ESMA register that includes UCITS fund-level data.

Filter by fund type

# UCITS funds
...&fq=funds_legal_framework_name:"UCITS"

# AIF funds
...&fq=funds_legal_framework_name:"AIF"

# ELTIF funds
...&fq=funds_legal_framework_name:"ELTIF"

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4. Entity Register (Management Companies)

API Endpoint

https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_upreg/select?q=...&wt=json

Fields for UCITS Management Companies (ae_entityTypeCode:UCI)

Field Name	Type	Description	openfunds Equivalent
ae_entityName	text	Entity (ManCo) name	OFST001020 ManCo
ae_lei	text	Entity LEI	—
ae_entityTypeCode	text	Entity type (UCI, AIF, MIF, etc.)	—
ae_competentAuthority	text	NCA name	OFST010060 Supervisory Authority
ae_homeMemberState	text	Home member state	—
ae_hostMemberState	text	Host member state(s)	—
ae_status	text	Authorization status	—
ae_authorisationNotificationDate	date	Authorization date	—
ae_website	text	Entity website	—
ae_legalform	text	Legal form	OFST160100 Legal Form
ae_commercialName	text	Commercial/brand name	OFST001000 Fund Group Name
ac_serviceName	text	Licensed services	—
no_of_funds	string	Number of managed funds	—

Example: List all UCITS Management Companies

curl "https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_upreg/select?q={!join+from=id+to=_root_}ae_entityTypeCode:UCI&fq=(type_s:parent)&rows=1000&wt=json&indent=true"

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5. FIRDS (Financial Instruments Reference Data System)

FIRDS contains MiFIR reference data for all financial instruments traded on EU venues, including fund shares/units. Funds are classified with CFI codes starting with "C" (Collective Investment Schemes).

Access Methods

1. Full/Delta XML files: Downloaded from ESMA registers portal
2. Python package: esma_data_py on GitHub
3. API: Via the ESMA API store

Key Fields for Fund Instruments

Field	Description	openfunds Equivalent
ISIN	International Securities Identification Number	OFST020000 ISIN
CFI Code	Classification of Financial Instruments (ISO 10962)	OFST350015 CFI Code
Instrument Full Name	Name of the instrument	OFST020060 Full Share Class Name
Issuer LEI	LEI of the issuer/ManCo	OFST010030 LEI Of Fund
Notional Currency	Currency of the instrument	OFST020540 Share Class Currency
Trading Venue MIC	Where the instrument is traded	OFST060000-range Listing data
Maturity Date	For dated instruments	—
Nominal Value	Face value per unit	—

Python Access

from esma_data_py import EsmaDataLoader
edl = EsmaDataLoader()
# Load FIRDS data for Collective Investment Schemes
df = edl.load_latest_files(instrument_type="FULINS", cfi_codes=["C*"])

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6. Money Market Fund Register

API Endpoint

https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_mmf04/select?q=type_s:parent&wt=json

Fields

Field Name	Description	openfunds Equivalent
mmf04_lei	Fund LEI	OFST010030 LEI Of Fund
mmf04_national_name	Fund national name	OFST010110 Legal Fund Name
mmf04_domicile_name	Fund domicile	OFST010010 Fund Domicile
mmf04_type_name	MMF type (CNAV/LVNAV/VNAV)	OFST351300 Money Market Type
mmf04_lgl_framework_name	Legal framework (UCITS/AIF)	OFST160100 Legal Form
mmf04_is_passported_name	Cross-border passported?	—
mmf04_auth_status_name	Authorization status	—
mmf04_manager_lei	Manager LEI	—
mmf04_manager_nat_name	Manager name	OFST001020 ManCo
mmf04_manager_domicile_name	Manager domicile	—
mmf04_auth_start_date	Authorization start date	OFST010240 Fund Launch Date
mmf04_auth_end_date	Authorization end date	—
mmf04_ca_cou_code_name	Competent authority country	OFST010060 Supervisory Authority
mmf04_auth_ca_code_name	Authorizing CA	—

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7. Prospectus Register (Prospectus Regulation III)

This covers securities prospectuses under the EU Prospectus Regulation (not UCITS KIIDs/KIDs). However, some fund-related securities (listed fund shares, ETFs) may appear here.

API Endpoint

https://registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_priii_documents/select?q=...&wt=json

Document Types

Code	Type
URGN	Universal Registration Document
REGN	Registration Document
SECN	Securities Note
SMRY	Summary
BPFT	Base Prospectus Final Terms
BPWO	Base Prospectus without Final Terms
STDA	Standalone Prospectus

Searchable Fields

• issuer_lei — Issuer LEI
• issuer_name — Issuer name
• issuer_residency — Issuer country
• offeror_lei / offeror_name / offeror_residency
• guarantor_lei / guarantor_name / guarantor_residency
• approval_filing_date — Document approval date
• document_type — Type code (see above)

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8. AIFMD Reporting (Not Publicly Available)

ESMA collects detailed fund data through AIFMD Article 24 reporting, but this data is not publicly accessible. It is submitted by AIFMs to NCAs and forwarded to ESMA for supervisory purposes only.

Fields collected (not public):

Category	Fields
Fund Identity	AIF name, national code, LEI, domicile, inception date
Fund Type	Predominant AIF type, investment strategy, sub-strategy
Assets	Gross Asset Value (GAV), Net Asset Value (NAV), base currency
Leverage	Gross method leverage, commitment method leverage
Investor Types	Breakdown by investor category (professional, retail, etc.)
Geographic Focus	Geographic breakdown of investments
Asset Allocation	Breakdown by asset type (equities, bonds, derivatives, etc.)
Liquidity	Portfolio liquidity profile, investor redemption frequency
Counterparty Risk	Top 5 counterparty exposures
Risk Measures	VaR, stress test results

This is the richest structured dataset but is confidential and only available to regulators.

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9. Comparison: ESMA vs SEC Fund Data

Aspect	SEC (US)	ESMA (EU)
Prospectus text	Full prospectus filed as HTML/XML on EDGAR	Not centralized; filed with national NCAs
Structured prospectus data	XBRL Risk/Return Summary (fees, performance, objective)	Not available — no EU-wide structured extraction
Fund identity register	Series/Class CSV (CIK, Series ID, Class ID, ticker)	Fund Register (LEI, name, domicile, manager)
Portfolio holdings	N-PORT (quarterly, position-level)	Not public — AIFMD reporting is confidential
Instrument reference data	Limited (CUSIP in Series/Class CSV)	FIRDS (ISIN, CFI, LEI, currency, trading venue)
Fee data (structured)	XBRL: management fee, TER, loads, 12b-1	Not available in ESMA registers
Performance data (structured)	XBRL: 1yr/5yr/10yr returns, bar charts	Not available in ESMA registers
Risk data (structured)	N-PORT: DV01, credit spread, VaR	AIFMD reporting (confidential)
Cross-border/passporting	N/A (single market)	Full cross-border notification register
API quality	Excellent (REST JSON, free, no auth)	Good (Solr JSON/XML, free, no auth)
Bulk download	ZIP files (submissions, XBRL, N-PORT)	FIRDS XML bulk files; fund register via Solr pagination

Key Difference

The SEC provides structured data extracted from prospectuses (fees, performance, objectives via XBRL), making it directly useful for LLM training with ground-truth labels. ESMA provides authorization/registration data (who is authorized, where, by whom) but does not centralize or structure the content of fund prospectuses/KIIDs/KIDs.

For EU fund prospectus content (KIID/KID), you would need to go to:

• Individual NCAs (AMF in France, BaFin in Germany, CSSF in Luxembourg, etc.)
• Commercial data providers (Morningstar, Refinitiv, FE fundinfo)
• Fund company websites directly

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10. What openfunds Fields Can Be Found in ESMA Data?

Directly Available (from ESMA registers)

openfunds OF-ID	Field Name	ESMA Source
OFST001000	Fund Group Name	Entity Register: ae_commercialName
OFST001020	ManCo	Fund Register: funds_manager_nat_name
OFST010010	Fund Domicile	Fund Register: funds_domicile_cou_code_name
OFST010030	LEI Of Fund	Fund Register: funds_lei
OFST010060	Supervisory Authority	Fund Register: funds_ca_cou_code_name
OFST010110	Legal Fund Name	Fund Register: funds_national_name
OFST020000	ISIN	FIRDS: ISIN field
OFST020540	Share Class Currency	FIRDS: Notional Currency
OFST160100	Legal Form	Fund Register: funds_legal_framework_name
OFST350015	CFI Code	FIRDS: CFI Code
OFST351295	Is Money Market Fund	MMF Register: presence in register
OFST351300	Money Market Type	MMF Register: mmf04_type_name

NOT Available in ESMA Public Data

Category	openfunds Fields	Notes
Fees	Management fee, TER, loads, subscription/redemption fees	Not in any ESMA register
Performance	Returns, Sharpe ratio, volatility	Not in any ESMA register
Investment Objective	Strategy text, objective text	Not in any ESMA register
Risk Data	SRRI, VaR, risk narrative	AIFMD reporting (confidential)
Asset Class	Detailed asset allocation	AIFMD reporting (confidential)
Distribution Policy	Distributing/accumulating	Not in any ESMA register
Minimum Investment	Min subscription amount	Not in any ESMA register
Benchmark	Benchmark index name	Not in any ESMA register
Portfolio Holdings	Position-level data	AIFMD reporting (confidential)

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11. Summary for Your LLM Use Case

ESMA data is useful for fund identity and cross-referencing (LEI, domicile, manager, legal framework, cross-border marketing status), but it does not provide the structured prospectus-derived data (fees, performance, objectives, risk) that the SEC's XBRL Risk/Return Summary provides.

Practical implications:

• For US funds: SEC EDGAR provides both the prospectus text AND structured ground-truth data — ideal for supervised LLM training
• For EU funds: ESMA provides identity/authorization data only. To get the prospectus text + structured reference data for EU funds, you would need to combine ESMA register data with prospectus documents sourced from national regulators or commercial providers

Recommended approach for EU data:

1. Use ESMA Fund Register + FIRDS for fund identity (LEI, ISIN, domicile, ManCo, CFI)
2. Source KIID/KID documents from national NCAs or fund company websites
3. Use openfunds-format data from commercial providers as ground truth
4. Or focus on the SEC dataset first (much richer, more accessible) and extend to EU later