What is an ISIN code and what can you do with it?

Suppose you're looking for that one fund, but the exact name doesn't come to mind. Was it something with "green," "green" or "greener"? Finding a fund can be quite tricky if the names are very similar. That's why financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and index funds have what is known as an ISIN code. This is a unique code that ensures that everyone knows exactly what product they are talking about. You can think of it as a kind of bar code, but for financial products.

What is an ISIN code?

The abbreviation ISIN stands for International Securities Identification Number, and each ISIN consists of 13 characters. The first two letters indicate the country, and the rest of the code represents the specific product. Index funds' ISINs therefore often begin with 'NL' for the Netherlands.

What can you do with an ISIN?

Such a code may sound useful only if you work in administration, but you can do quite a lot with it. If you know the ISIN of an index fund, you can look up the prices, for example. Or you can build a portfolio of your index funds that you keep track of in, say, Yahoo! Finance. Even though our index funds are not traded on the stock exchange, the prices are transmitted daily to various parties.

You can enter your portfolio of index funds at Yahoo!, IEX, or create a free account at Morningstar. This will keep you informed whether your investments are rising or falling over the weeks or months. Every smartphone also has a stock app where you can enter ISIN codes.

Still, we advise you not to make hasty decisions based on daily price information. Investing is something for the long term, and fluctuations are normal.

Where can you find the ISIN code?

In the overview you will find information about index funds: their composition, costs and, of course, the ISIN code. For convenience, here is an overview of the ISIN codes of some index funds:

  • World Index Fund Hedged: NL0012706154
  • Euro Government Bond Index Fund Long: NL0012706212
  • Sustainable World Index Fund: NL0012706162
  • World Bond Index Fund: NL0012706196
  • Euro Investment Grade Bond Index Fund: NL0012706220
  • Euro Government Bond Index Fund: NL0012706204
  • World Index Fund Unhedged: NL0012706238
  • Europe Index Fund: NL0012706246
  • Pacific Index Fund: NL0012706253
  • America Index Fund: NL0012706261
  • Euro Government Bond Index Fund Inflation: NL0012706279
  • Euro Government Bond Index Fund Short: NL0012706287
  • Small Cap World Index Fund: NL0013546955
  • Emerging Markets Index Fund: NL0014040164
  • Sustainable World Index Fund Total: NL00150013A8
  • Green Bond Index Fund: NL00150013B6