The Transparency Label Initiative treats transparency as a 0/1 variable.  Either an investment provides sufficient disclosure so a buyer/seller can know what they own or it does not.  If it does, it is awarded a label.  If it does not, it doesn’t get a label.

The Initiative chose not to provide a metric showing what percentage of the necessary information an investment discloses.

Why?

Imagine a Venn Diagram.  Each circle in the diagram represents the information an expert considers necessary if a buyer/seller is going to know what they own.  While there will be significant overlap between the experts’ circles, there will also be differences.

The Initiative’s standard for disclosure includes not only the information the experts agree on, but also includes the information unique to the individual experts.

Why?

The Initiative doesn’t want an investment to be “transparent” for some investors and not for others.  Financial markets work better when there isn’t favoritism in disclosure and a variety of perspectives can be used to assess the risk/reward of an investment.