Asset Managers

Investment research firm Morningstar is set to announce the winners of the 2023 Morningstar Awards for Excellence in Investing in Luxembourg. 

A total of 12 funds were nominated in the categories global equity fund, best Europe equity fund, best Euro bond fund and best Euro allocation fund. Morningstar also has selected six nominees for its Best Asset Manager and its Best Asset Manager Sustainable Finance awards.

The winners will be announced at a Luxembourg ceremony on Wednesday evening at 20:30 local time.

A survey conducted among 300 investment institutions, including asset managers, asset owners and insurance firms, has found a mixed understanding of digital assets among investment professionals. The results point to different levels of readiness to using digital assets and investment technology.

The crusade against “woke capitalism” is entering a new phase in the United States now that Republican politicians turn against ESG policies in asset management. Jan van Eck, chief executive of the global ETF boutique carrying his name, this interference is fully justified, regardless of where one stands on ESG and sustainability investments.

Responsible investment policies at two thirds of the world’s major asset managers, representing some 60 trillion dollars in assets under management, fall short of their objectives, leaving the firms with “serious gaps” in their practices, according to a report published by British NGO Shareaction.

Australian financial giant Macquarie is considering a bid worth more than 5 billion pounds (5.6 billion euro) for UK-headquartered fund manager and insurer M&G, which runs its non-UK European business from Luxembourg.

Luxembourg’s leading financial sector associations, together with the supervisory authorities and the government, are about to launch a public campaign that seeks to elucidate the general public in the grand duchy on sustainable finance. 

In particular, the campaign aims to make clear that sustainable investing is more than just environmental ‘green finance’ and that ESG investing also relates to social issues and the governance of companies.

Even after 40 percent of the EU’s most sustainable fund assets was downgraded during the fourth quarter, managers of investment funds with an outspoken sustainability profile are still not sure whether their funds meet the requirements for ESG investments under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

Further downgrades are expected during the coming months.

Marion Le Morhedec is global head of fixed income at AXA Investment Management. For this edition of IO’s Portfolio Update podcast she spoke with Investment Officer’s Max Severijns.

Third-party assets in ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ funds and mandate solutions have been rising since October 2020, with 30 percent of assets under management now coming from clients other than ABN Amro. Meanwhile, the fund house is focusing on its latest solutions services.

Denis Panel has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Sycomore Asset Management, a unit of Generali Investments, the firm announced on Tuesday.