Registry Detail

Details

ID:
77
Type:
Interpretation
Last updated:
01/01/1999 00:00:00
Description:
Scholarship fund

Request

We are now regarding a proposal for a higher education scholarship fund. The money contributed will be invested, but the main objective of the fund is neither financial intermediation, nor investment management. Eventually, both profits and initial contributions will be used to support education solely.

Discussion

In case of a government fund it should be classified under Public Administration in ISIC 7512 (Regulation of the activities of agencies that provide health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security). The explanatory notes mention the public administration of programmes and associated funds. However, if the fund is a private organization, which is suggested in the message, it should be classified as an organization dealing with financial investment on it's own behalf. The main objective of the fund is to provide financial aid for education, however it's main activity lies in the financial sector. The most suitable ISIC class for this activity is ISIC 6599 (Financial intermediation n.e.c.). This class includes other financial intermediation primarily concerned with distributing funds other than by making loans. This includes investment in securities, including dealing for own account... The management of funds (other than pension funds) on a fee for service would be classified under ISIC 6712. However, that doesn't seem to be the case here. The classification in ISIC 6599 is appropriate following the explanatory notes, but seems to contradict the title for this class, group, division and sector since an education fund is not financial intermediation. However, existing correspondence tables with other classifications show this as the correct place. The managing of funds of this kind doesn't seem to be well represented in all classifications, as there is no explicit mentioning of it. This might be one item that has to be discussed for a future revision of ISIC. For example, the new North American Classification NAICS (covering the US, Canada and Mexico) has a separate code assigned for these funds reflecting the needs of some users of the classification. In the previous US version (SIC) it was classified similar to ISIC without an explicit definition. Both correspondence tables however, point to ISIC 6599 as the correct ISIC class for this activity.

Decision

Private educational scholarship fund is classified under ISIC Rev.3 6599.