Asset Managers

While those European investors still in doubt about the importance of ESG are becoming increasingly bogged down in a rearguard action, U.S. states are increasingly passing anti-ESG laws. “If this becomes federal policy, I would underweight the U.S. in the portfolio,” said Gaya Herrington,  a sustainability researcher and advisor to the Club of Rome.

Fund firms face the prospect of EU rules setting standards of “value for money” for their investment products under the Retail Investment Strategy due to be unveiled on 24 May. This could include disincentives, for example, to charging active management fees for an investment that underperforms an index fund. For all the discussion of a ban on inducements for investment advice, the commission has decided to propose a more limited inducement ban on execution-only investments. 

Europe’s top regulator for securities and financial markets on Wednesday said it believes there is a need for EU-level legislation to make sure investors do not bear costs that are considered excessive, unnecessary, or unreasonable when they put their money in investment funds.

Some long awaited regulatory clarity on ESG and sustainability requirements for fund and asset managers appears to have reduced the state of confusion that had led to a downgrade of approximately 270 billion euro in assets under management last year. Yet, some specialists believe that claims of greenwashing that have plagued the industry in the last year are at serious risk of continuing. 

Franklin Templeton on Monday said that all 21 Ucits ETFs from its Icav range have become available to Luxembourg investors in response to growing client demand for ETF solutions.

Belgium’s largest independent private bank, Degroof Petercam, is considering a major reshuffle of its ownership structure that could potentially lead to a new majority shareholder. Some of the existing owners, mainly Belgian noble families but also undefined “financial partners”, have indicated they want to sell their shares.

A deal could be worth more than one billion euro. Belgian state-controlled financial group Belfius, Credit Agricole, ING Groep and Royal Bank of Canada are reported as being possible bidders.  

Claus Vorm, senior portfolio manager and deputy head of multi assets at Nordea Asset Management, underlines the importance of choosing companies with predictable and stable prospects over time, which deliver superior and less volatile performance. Without investing in energy, his 100 per cent equity fund managed to achieve a near break-even result in 2022. 

Referring to a “challenging year”, Belgian investment house Degroof Petercam on Saturday said that its operating income fell 16 per cent last year on the back of a decline in commission income. The drop was mitigated in part by higher interest margins.

The bank, which has a major presence in Luxembourg as asset manager, posted 106.7 million euro in operating income for 2022, down from 126.6 million a year earlier. The privately held company did not provide a breakdown of this income.

Bruno Colmant, former CEO at Degroof Petercam, spoke in Luxembourg this week as a member of Belgium’s Royal Academy. Addressing an audience of bankers and real estate professionals he laid out his views on the impact of increased public spending linked to fighting “systemic risks” in Europe. “We are closer to a communist state than to a free market economy.”

The launch of the amended Eltif regulation – version 2.0 – fits a narrative in some quarters that the version of Eltif already on the books is some kind of failure. Data nevertheless shows that investment in even the “limited” version of Eltif in place since 2015 is still growing quickly and various projections specify even faster growth. In order for the vehicle to be sold to masses of clients under Eltif 2.0, experts said that consequential adaptations will have to be made to the way such funds are sold and distributed.