Asset Managers

Despite much debate in the market about the hows and whys of ESG integration, impact investing is steadily making its way into the financial mainstream. In 2021, the first year in two decades in which extreme poverty once again rose, with lasting consequences for the world’s most vulnerable people in particular, the financial industry once again demonstrated the importance of real, tangible impact.

The consolidation battle in the asset management world continues unabated. American firm T. Rowe Price has bought credit manager Oak Hill Advisors for USD 4.2 billion in cash and shares. In addition, private equity parties GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners have acquired Wells Fargo Asset Management.

How do you achieve a year-to-date return of more than 31 per cent? “Well, common sense. That is our only strategy. We have no more information than the market. We don’t use a complex box with all kinds of variables”, said Theo Vermaelen, one of the four managers of the Buyback USA Fund.

The Luxembourg financial sector has long-discussed the blockchain or as it’s also called “distributed ledger technology (DLT)” as way to strengthen the Luxembourg financial sector. As it was put by Ananda Kautz of Luxembourg’s banks and bankers association the ABBL: “Digital strategy, digital ledger technology, most commonly known as blockchain, has been a key strategic topic for ABBL since many years now.”

Brice Prunas, manager of the ODDO BHF Artificial Intelligence, makes no secret of his enthusiasm for artificial intelligence as it quietly breaks through in all corners of the market. He not only invests in it but also uses AI to manage his fund. 

NN Investment Partners remains committed to serving its fiduciary clients in the best possible way, while continuing to do so with a local office and with people who know the local market as well as the laws and regulations. Satish Bapat, NN IP’s CEO, explained this in response to questions about the impact of the Goldman Sachs’ takeover on its customers, such as pension funds.

Pimco is not too worried about the economic slowdown and rising inflation, as these are largely related to a temporary disruption. Opportunities in the credit and bond markets have become scarcer and finding them requires a lot of effort.

This is what emerges from an interview with Eve Tournier, Head of European Credit Portfolio Management at Pimco and manager of the GIS Euro Credit Fund, among others.

As governments and central banks wind down their support programmes, more corporate defaults and restructurings will follow. For distressed debt investors, a particularly attractive return of 15 per cent per annum is in store.

The question is whether the illiquidity of private markets is still an issue if the market becomes more volatile again. Especially when you realise that liquid markets can also become illiquid.

The asset allocation of an insurer is different from that of a traditional asset manager or private bank. On the one hand, there are the provisions imposed by the regulator and, on the other, the long-term obligations. Low yields on government bonds are also a challenge for AG Insurance, explained Olivier Colsoul (pictured), Senior Strategist at AG Insurance. This is countered by strategically increasing the equity weighting and adding alternative asset classes, he explained.