Asset Managers

Fewer new reserved alternative investment funds are being registered in Luxembourg this year as investment managers are more cautious and VC fundraising has declined. Investor appetite appears reduced but has not disappeared. Dry powder is said to remain available among institutional investors in the alternatives market. 

In Europe’s two largest ETF hubs, Luxembourg and Ireland, different rules govern the naming of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). While European rules for ETF naming conventions are determined by Paris-based authority ESMA, the implementation by national supervisors CSSF in Luxembourg and CBI in Ireland diverges, presenting both opportunities and risks for ETF providers.

Jean-Marc Goy has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI), the industry body announced on Monday following its annual general meeting. Goy is a board member at Capital Group Luxembourg. Before joining the firm in 2018 he served two decades at the grand duchy’s financial supervisor CSSF.

“Active management is a sham — no wonder my returns are suspect,” writes Stuart Kirk, FT columnist and former portfolio manager, in his latest attack on active management. However, he conveniently overlooks one important detail.

In a damning report unveiled this week, non-profit organisation ShareAction exposed that a mere 10 out of 77 asset managers worldwide have taken steps to limit investments in the most damaging fossil fuels across all their investment funds. The report, which delved into the practices of major global asset managers, urged the firms to urgently confront the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss by reassessing capital allocation strategies and engaging with the companies they invest in.

The negative correlation between bonds and stocks is no longer a certainty due to structurally higher inflation expected in the coming decade.

A stellar performance of a small number of listed tech companies is largely responsible for the recent recovery in public stock markets. For Ben Prade, partner at international tech investor GP Bullhound, it remains to be seen whether this can serve as a full market revival. Nevertheless, he is upbeat about the prospects for private tech investments, saying 2023 can become “one of those really great vintages”.

A Memorandum of Understanding on financial services agreed between the EU and the UK, published on 19 May, could elevate the tone of the discussions and lead to a more productive relationship. “It’s a very encouraging confirmation that the relations between the EU and the UK are warming up,” said Nicolas Mackel, the CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, the public-private Luxembourg agency for the development of the financial sector.

Swiss private bank Pictet has decided to move its European headquarters to Frankfurt, relocating the function from Luxembourg. The grand duchy has served as the main European hub of the Geneva-based private bank for about three decades.

The  bank said that its former Pictet & Cie (Europe) S.A. “transferred its registered office from Luxembourg” to Frankfurt per 26 May “by way of a cross border conversion from a Luxembourg Societé Anonyme into a German Aktiengesellschaft.”

Market consolidation, pressure on cost and the weight of regulation have reduced the total number of Management Companies in Luxembourg by four last year. The latest edition of PwC’s annual Manco Observatory nevertheless sees this industry as “very dynamic”, with 11 new Manco’s having been set up in the last year.