Euro funds (fonds en euros)

A life-insurance fund whose return is announced each year by the insurer.

What is a euro fund?

The euro fund (fonds en euros) is a fund offered inside an assurance-vie contract (or some capitalisation and retirement contracts). The insurer invests it mostly in bonds and generally guarantees the capital under the conditions set out in the contract.

How the return is set

A euro fund's return is not known in advance: the insurer usually announces the rate credited for a year after that year has ended. The rate depends on the contract and the insurer. In most contracts, interest once credited is then permanently acquired (the "ratchet" effect).

Key takeaway

The rate credited one year says nothing about the rate of the following years.

Limits

The contract's management fees are deducted, and the guarantee may be defined gross or net of fees depending on the contract. Some contracts make access to the euro fund conditional on a minimum share of unit-linked funds.

Attention

Read the guarantee and fee terms of your contract: they vary from one insurer to another.

Tracking it in PortefeuilleZen

A euro fund has no market price: its value is the one published by the insurer or entered by you. Until it is known, PortefeuilleZen shows it as unknown — never as zero.