Asset Managers

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.

Registrations of reserved alternative investment funds took a very relaxed late-summer break during August, quietening to a level last seen early in the Raif product’s history — in January 2019. Only 15 new funds were registered during the month, according to data from Luxembourg Business Registers analysed by Investment Officer.

The 29th edition of the Monterey Insight Luxembourg Fund Report reveals that unregulated funds are outperforming their regulated counterparts in a big way, signalling a potential paradigm shift for the Grand Duchy. Unregulated funds, especially reserved alternative investment funds (Raifs), have seen a surge in asset value. Raifs alone have increased their assets to the equivalent of 458.4 billion dollars, marking a 38.6% rise from last year’s 330.8 billion dollars, said Monterey.

Amundi is continuing to transfer Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with exposure to U.S.-based companies from Luxembourg to Ireland. A significant part of this migration, involving €6.58 billion across two ETFs, was announced last week.

Upcoming legislation bringing challenges to the fund distribution industry – notably adding reporting requirements and increasing costs – will be a key focus on Wednesday’s Global Distribution Conference of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, known as Alfi. “Distribution is still the key to the success of the asset management industry,” said Steven Libby, a partner and Emea AWM leader at PwC and an Alfi board member, who will serve as Master of Ceremony at Wednesday’s event.

Artificial intelligence could change the way ETFs are assembled. Why would an investor opt for traditional index trackers when they can be customized? Newcomers see opportunities, but the establishment remains skeptical.

In a high-profile executive shuffle, Pierre Jond has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of Amundi Luxembourg, and chairman of Fund Channel, the B2B fund distribution platform jointly owned by Amundi and Caceis. The appointment took effect on September 1. 

Jond succeeds Jeanne Duvoux, who is transitioning to a new role as Head of Business Support & Operations for Amundi Group, Europe’s biggest asset manager with approximately 2,000 billion euro in assets under management.

KPMG Luxembourg announced Wednesday an agreement with developer BPI Real Estate to develop a new headquarters building in Kirchberg for its audit, tax and advisory services activities.

The deal includes developing a new 31,000-square-meter headquarters on the 3.23-hectare site of the Kronos Building. It will incorporate a food court and a co-working space. BPI Real Estate will develop an additional 24,658 square meters for mixed-use purposes.