Luxembourg, long seen as the administrative engine of Europe’s fund industry, has evolved into a strategic global hub, with U.S. asset managers leading the charge. Firms like Blackrock, Invesco, and JPMorgan are anchoring cross-border operations in the Grand Duchy, turning it into a launchpad for global growth and highlighting America’s dominant role in shaping Europe’s financial future.
When Adrian Mulryan took the tram from Luxembourg Airport into Kirchberg for the first time in nearly two decades, he barely recognised the city he used to visit as a senior ABN Amro lawyer during the CDO boom years.
“It’s a proper open economy now,” said the CEO of Invesco Management in Ireland. “You just need to get on the tram from the airport to see that it is a flourishing open economy with a broad spectrum of talent coming from every part of the EU and beyond. The city has changed, and so has its role in global finance.”
Back in the mid-2000s, Luxembourg was still widely seen as the administrative engine of Europe’s fund industry. Fast-forward to 2025, and it has transformed into something much more strategic: a full-spectrum launchpad for global asset managers. For Invesco, that means anchoring its European growth strategy in real estate and private markets in Luxembourg, while running passives and money market funds through Dublin.
“We talk a lot about European industrial champions. But Luxembourg’s fund ecosystem is already one. We just need to start telling that story more confidently.”
Adrian Mulryan, Invesco Management
Management and distribution hub
“From an investment perspective, we’re pretty straightforward in that we have our passives and money market funds in our Irish manco, and we have our active and private strategies in the main in our Luxembourg manco, with our branch network expanding from there,” Mulryan said in an interview with Investment Officer. “Some of our people are even taking on global roles. It’s become a specialist asset management and distribution hub.”
That evolution mirrors a broader trend: Luxembourg has long been the home of Ucits, the bread-and-butter structure for cross-border retail funds, including ETFs, and it remains the gold standard for fund passporting across Europe and beyond. In recent years, the AIFMD framework has added momentum to private market strategies, and with the arrival of Eltif 2.0, Luxembourg now enables asset managers to offer private market funds to retail investors too.
While Luxembourg’s legal frameworks and regulatory finesse have long been admired, its ecosystem of talent and infrastructure is what’s turning it into a front-office jurisdiction. Global players are not just setting up shell structures here; they’re hiring risk managers, portfolio strategists, and sales executives, and increasingly, portfolio managers themselves.
Long American courtship
The notion that U.S. firms dominate Luxembourg’s cross-border fund ecosystem is not new. “The ranking—U.S., UK, Germany, Switzerland, and France—hasn’t changed in years,” said Britta Borneff, an executive at Alfi, Luxembourg’s fund industry association. “The U.S. has consistently ranked number one, followed by the UK, Germany, Switzerland and France.”
While Luxembourg touts its role as the world’s premier hub for cross-border fund distribution, a closer look reveals that the true financial muscle behind the Grand Duchy’s fund industry lies elsewhere.
American asset managers now control more than half of all cross-border fund assets globally, much of it wrapped up in Luxembourgish legal vehicles. This growing transatlantic imbalance raises uncomfortable questions for Europe’s aspirations of financial sovereignty. As policymakers in Brussels call for greater strategic autonomy and resilience in the face of geopolitical risk, data suggests that even the continent’s crown jewel of fund innovation may be running on Wall Street’s playbook.
The latest Alfi/Broadridge study, published in April, laid bare the scale of this power dynamic. Luxembourg is the official domicile for nearly half of all cross-border assets worldwide, and the vast majority of these funds, more than 3,400 billion, or 51 percent, is managed by U.S.-based firms.
Blackrock alone accounts for 1,200 billion euro, more than a third of that total, with Vanguard, JPMorgan, and Pimco not far behind. European giants like Amundi, UBS, and DWS appear further down the leaderboard.
Borneff sees this not as a threat, but as a culmination of a long-standing relationship. Fidelity set up in Luxembourg in 1991, JPMorgan in 1973, and Blackrock in 1994. Chase Manhattan opened up in 1973. JP Morgan Asset Management in 1988.
“They’ve been here for decades. It’s a first-mover advantage. They invested early, built compliance and legal operations, and now they’re leveraging Luxembourg’s global reputation to expand into Asia and Latin America.”
‘Meaningful shift’
Borneff highlighted how the narrative has shifted. “Luxembourg is no longer just about fund administration. We’re seeing portfolio managers on the ground, especially in private assets. That brings deal sourcing and decision-making closer to the platform. It’s a meaningful shift.”
Mulryan agrees. Invesco has grown its Luxembourg office to over 80 staff, one of its largest in Europe, with new hires in real estate and distribution. “We’re centralising oversight functions here. We even hired a sales lead for Luxembourg. This is a reflection of the growth of the market and the requirement for proximity to a growing local client base.”
For both executives, talent is the differentiator. “If it was just about the jurisdiction, we’d for instance be in Estonia,” Mulryan quipped. “It’s about where the people are who understand the pipes and plumbing of global asset management.”
European success story
The idea that Luxembourg’s fund industry is merely a staging post for U.S. capital misrepresents the dynamic, both argue.
“This is a European business,” said Mulryan. “With European products, European regulatory frameworks, and European talent. And we’re distributing them globally.”
Borneff pointed to the reputation Luxembourg has built across emerging markets. “From Singapore to São Paulo, Luxembourg stands for safety and quality. That’s not just good for the U.S. firms here; it’s good for everyone.”
As the EU debates financial sovereignty and savings union reforms, Luxembourg’s hybrid model of local precision and global connectivity may prove to be one of the continent’s most underappreciated assets.
“We talk a lot about European industrial champions,” said Mulryan. “But Luxembourg’s fund ecosystem is already one. We just need to start telling that story more confidently.”