Asset Managers

Although its overall market share contracted slightly, Luxembourg last year held on to its number one spot among Europe’s top 10 investment hubs for both Ucits and Alternative Investment Funds, with a market share of 26.8 percent, compared to 27 percent that was reported for the previous year, according to the latest annual reported released by the Association for the Luxembourg Fund Industry, or Alfi. Ireland’s share of the pie increased to 18.6 percent last year from 18 percent reported for 2020. 

Pascal Blanqué, Chairman of the Amundi Institute and former Chief Investment Officer at Amundi, on Thursday said he believes that market thinking behind widening spreads among eurozone government bond yields poses a risk of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Unregulated alternative investments continued to be dynamic and successful in Luxembourg last year thanks to the modernisation in recent years of the Grand Duchy’s regulatory regime for private markets, consultancy firm PWC Luxembourg noted when releasing the latest version of its Observatory for Management Companies.

Less than a day after the “green-washing raids” by German authorities on the Frankfurt offices of Deutsche Bank and its asset management arm DWS, the bank said Asoka Wöhrmann will resign as chief executive officer at DWS. Stefan Hoops, a long-time Deutsche executive, is named as his successor. 

Hoops has served as Deutsche’s head of corporate bank for the last three years. He has been with the bank since 2003. 

The long-term financing of the storage of German commercial radioactive waste is being provided in part through a Luxembourg Raif that was established earlier this year. Kenfo, the German sovereign wealth fund that established the fund, has given InvestmentOfficer.lu some more details about its investment purpose.

Jasmine Kang, Hong Kong-based portfolio manager at Comgest, recently visited Luxembourg and explained to Investment Officer how China sees the current global financial conditions as an opportunity to “decouple” and become more self-sufficient. China’s centrally managed economy is well placed in a world where rising interest rates, surging commodity prices and increasing geopolitical tension continue to haunt global investors.

Accompanying Luxembourg’s finance minister Yuriko Backes on her official visit to Stockholm, Luxembourg’s financial community this week sought to strengthen its financial ties with Sweden, considered a “natural partner” for the Grand Duchy. Backes also discussed plans to support the reconstruction of Ukraine with her Swedish counterpart.

Travelling back to Luxembourg, Backes said on Twitter that her visit had been “very productive.” Backes was accompanied by a Luxembourg for Finance delegation and several representatives of Luxembourg’s financial services sector.

A university-sponsored wealthtech startup based in Liège, Belgium, is keen to make life easier for European fund managers that currently face sleepless nights. In 77 days, in the middle of the summer holidays, additional client suitability requirements will enter into force in the EU. It can change the way wealth managers interact with their clients.

An increasing number of chief executives recognises that sustainability is one of the main challenges they face over the coming years, a new survey among 3,000 CEOs said.

Anthos Fund & Asset Management BV, the asset manager of the Brenninkmeijer family’s holding company Cofra, takes pride in moving with the times. It is working on a major transformation, no mean feat in view of the international laws and regulations. Once the veil is lifted, Anthos will transform from a single to a multi-family office.