Methodology
The PivotalPath Classification System
The PivotalPath classification system is a hierarchical tree. Each fund is classified within a leaf of that tree — assessed against published criteria, applied identically across the whole universe, and fixed for the year. An index is built on a class; the classification is the prior object.
Classification tree
Eight broad classes, with 29 subclasses underneath them that branch further by focus. A fund is classified into a leaf; an index is then built on that group.
CRDDefinitionStrategies trading primarily in credit markets — corporate, structured and sovereign debt across the capital structure.
CRDCBAAn arbitrage approach to the convertible bond market.CRDDSSBuying companies in distress — sometimes ahead of an expected bankruptcy, sometimes during the process, often with the goal of a controlling position.CRDFIARelative-value arbitrage between related fixed income instruments.CRDLSCLong and short positions across investment grade, high yield, convertible and distressed debt.CRDMSTMore than one credit strategy run together, across the credit spectrum.CRDRELCapturing price differences between related credit instruments.CRDMBSSecurities backed by mortgages, and pooled debt obligations whose cash flows are sold on.EQDDefinitionLong/short equity, organised by the geography a manager actually trades.
EQDALSLong and short equity positions in Asia.EQDELSLong and short equity positions in Europe.EQDGLSLong and short positions, global markets.EQDULSLong and short equity positions in the United States.EQSDefinitionLong/short equity concentrated in a single sector, where the relevant comparison is other specialists in that sector.
EQSCONConsumer and retail equities.EQSEUIEnergy, utilities and industrials.EQSFINFinancials.EQSHLTBiotech and pharmaceuticals, devices and services.EQSREIReal estate equities.EQSTMTTechnology, media and telecommunications.EVDDefinitionStrategies exploiting pricing inefficiencies that arise before or after a corporate event.
EVDESSSpin-offs, mergers, bankruptcy, distress, litigation and activism.EVDMEREvent driven trading around corporate acquisitions.EVDMEVInvesting across the full spectrum of corporate events.GBMDefinitionTop-down strategies seeking to profit from broad market moves driven by political or economic events, across equities, rates, currencies and commodities.
GBMCOMA commodity-focused approach to macro.GBMDSCPortfolios constructed to express top-down macro views across global markets.GBMMMACapital deployed across multiple portfolio managers trading major markets.GBMQNTSystematic macro across geographies and asset classes.GBMRPMLong and short positions across factors and asset classes, targeting absolute return.MFTDefinitionSystematic strategies trading futures across metals, grains, equity indices, currencies and rates.
MFTCMDFutures trading concentrated in commodities.MFTCCYFutures trading concentrated in currencies.MFTNTFNon-directional systematic trading.MFTTFOTrend following and momentum signals across all asset classes.MSTDefinitionFunds running several distinct strategies at once, across asset classes, with capital allocated between them internally.
VOLDefinitionStrategies focused on volatility trading through derivatives across varied asset classes.
Tiers
The tree is hierarchical: broad themes at the top, specialised sub-strategies arranged around them, and occasional further division where a strategy warrants it.
- Class
- Eight broad themes. Every classified fund sits somewhere beneath one of them.
- Subclass
- The specialised strategies within a class. This is the leaf most funds are classified into.
- Focus
- A finer division, maintained only where a subclass is large and genuinely heterogeneous.
Alongside the tree sit complementary classifications, computed across it rather than within it. Equity Market Neutral is one: defined by measured exposure — low declared net exposure and a trailing three-year beta to the S&P 500 within ±0.20 — rather than by which theme a fund belongs to.
How a fund is classified
Upon onboarding, a fund is assigned to a classification group based on what it does — assessed by cross-referencing pitchbooks, interview notes and realised performance, not by what the fund calls itself, and not revisited because performance moved.
Where a strategy genuinely changes, reassessment applies from the following determination year. Historical classifications are never restated, and historical index constituents are unaffected by a reclassification.
Constituent identities are never disclosed — to allocators, to other managers, or to constituents themselves. What is published is distributional: counts, aggregate assets, year-on-year overlap, and the performance of the group as a whole.