Asset Managers

Transcript of the interview with Esma Chair Verena Ross.

Asset managers are expressing concerns over the European Commission’s lack of a clear definition for “value for money,” arguing its subjective nature complicates the assessment of investment service costs amidst new regulatory pressures.

Vanguard Group has announced that Salim Ramji, formerly of BlackRock, will become its new CEO on July 8th. Ramji, who will also join the board of directors, will take over from Tim Buckley.

Until recently, Ramji was responsible for BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index investments divisions, where he managed to grow the ETF business from $1 trillion to $2.5 trillion.

Degroof Petercam, Belgium’s largest private bank with a significant presence in Luxembourg, on Wednesday posted a double-digit decline in its full year net profit because of one-time costs related to sale of a majority stake to France’s Credit Agricole group and due to higher tax pressure.

Addressing its business performance, the firm said its private banking business improved due to higher interest rates, while its asset management activities faced a decline in revenues. 

LGIM has launched its first Luxembourg-domiciled fund, aimed at international institutional investors, to expand its private markets strategy. It’s called ‘Staff’, or short term alternative finance fund. LGIM’s head of private credit Nick Bamber spoke to Investment Officer.

Crypto assets, as an asset class, have seen soaring valuations and scandals over the years. One Luxembourg AIFM thinks this country’s nascent crypto asset ecosystem is primed for growth from institutional investors when all the puzzle pieces finally fit together.

As Wall Street’s financial giants approach their annual shareholder meetings, the calls for restraint and closer alignment of executive pay with company performance and shareholder interests signal a potentially contentious voting season.

Steffen Pauls led KKR in Germany for over eleven years before becoming CEO of Moonfare. In 2015, he left the American investment company with a new goal: making private markets accessible to individuals. He understands all too well this target group sometimes has ethical concerns regarding this sector.

Despite constant new regulations and sophisticated technology, one of the main reasons why money-launderers and terrorism financiers continue to succeed is a simple lack of qualified personnel able to make effective use of such tools, according to a recent survey carried out in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region by global accounting firm PwC.

Equity investors cling excessively to certainties and undervalue innovations, leading to particularly strong return prospects for certain growth stocks, asserts Tim Garratt, an investment specialist at Baillie Gifford.