Expert Panel

Geopolitical conflict and renewed inflationary concerns sapped the wind from high-yield sails.

In the first quarter of 2026, hard-currency emerging-markets sovereign debt held up modestly better for European investors than for US investors. Euro-based returns were broadly flat, compared with a decline of around 0.2% for US dollar-based investors.

Emerging markets started the year strongly, but geopolitical tensions stemming from the US/Israel–Iran conflict have since tempered sentiment.

Equities are off to a volatile start in 2026. While initial optimism around the AI capex boom continued to support global equity markets, a rotation into cyclical sectors, value, and non-US stocks helped broaden the rally.

Blackrock is an established behemoth with total assets that easily overwhelm its closest rivals, while UBS Asset Management is rebuilding following the acquisition of Credit Suisse Asset Management.

A strong start to the year for smallcaps does not guarantee outperformance in 2026.

Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra and Gabriël Storm at Loyens & Loeff examine the latest EU-level guidance on Target Funds under ELTIF 2.0 and its implications for ELTIF managers and product structuring going forward.

The Belgian tax administration has further digitalized the procedure for filing the tax on collective investment institutions (CIV tax). In principle, the tax return must now be submitted electronically through the MyMinFin portal.

The Asian bond market continues to deepen, supported by local and international interest.

Finance is full of repetitive work, often done manually. Reconciliation, reporting, and various calculations to evaluate assets are part of daily life. But in recent years, the AI storm has arrived.