Asset Managers

After a significant reclassification wave last year, many hesitate to award their funds the highest sustainability label, lacking the commercial upsides of SFDR 9 reporting.

Securities supervisors worldwide are looking to coordinate and align their approaches to greenwashing in the investment industry, it became clear on Monday during a panel debate hosted by Iosco, the Madrid-based body that brings together securities regulators from across the world. The debate marked the start of Iosco’s seventh World Investor Week.

A new global tax system is coming, putting globally-active Luxembourg firms, especially investment funds, into a desperate search to see whether they could be exposed to pay a potentially substantial top-up tax, according to rules that, to some, could seem just mean.

JP Morgan’s recent decision to incorporate India into its Emerging Market bond index has ignited institutional interest in the world’s leading emerging market government bond. However, full acceptance still has significant barriers to overcome.

BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments (BLI) and Funds For Good on Friday unveiled two new joint impact funds; the FFG European Impact Equities and FFG American Impact Equities. Classified as Article 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation, the funds build on a decade-old collaborative partnership between the firms.

Paris-based asset manager Carmignac has announced a series of new appointments to bolster its Patrimoine fund, which has a substantial Luxembourg component.

Guillaume Rigeade, Eliezer Ben Zimra, Jacques Hirsch and Christophe Moulin are stepping in as co-managers of Carmignac Patrimoine, joining forces with David Older, the firm’s head of equities. This move follows the recent elevation of Rose Ouahba (photo) to the position of managing director within the firm’s senior management team.

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has transitioned its Luxembourg offices to a more expansive space in the Vertigo Polaris Building, demonstrating a solid commitment to its European operations in the Grand Duchy. The inauguration of the new location was marked by a special event on Wednesday, graced by the presence of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, and Blackstone’s CFO, Michael Chae.

Despite growing optimism about investment conditions, the latest Goldman Sachs Asset Management survey indicates that a majority of investors still view private equity as too expensive.

The traditional portfolio manager, meticulously sifting through a hefty stack of research and diligently inputting annual reports into a valuation model, seems to be a fading image from the past. For banks and asset managers to stand out, they must wholeheartedly adopt artificial intelligence, posits Gerben de Zwart of APG, one of Europe’s largest asset managers, overseeing approximately 541 billion euros for Dutch pensioners.

DWS, the asset management subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, finds itself in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The investment management giant has been charged on two fronts: making misleading claims about its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment practices and lacking a robust Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework. To settle these charges, DWS will be parting with 25 million dollars in penalties.