News

Consolidation, regulatory risks, and the need to stay relevant to the target audience of investors and asset owners are considered as the topics that keep C-level asset managers awake at night. At the Efama conference in Brussels on Thursday, CEOs of five firms underlined the importance of adaptability, technological integration, and maintaining a clear company purpose.

Whisky asset manager Scotch Whisky Investments until recently focused mainly on private investors. That market continues as usual, but bringing in former ABN Amro director Eran Habets as CEO means more focus on selling to independent asset managers and family offices. And abroad, first and foremost Belgium.

Luxembourg-headquartered CVC Capital Partners, one of Europe’s biggest private equity firms, on Wednesday decided to postpone its initial public offering on the Amsterdam stock exchange, a person familiar with the decision has confirmed. The firm now is looking for a new opportunity to go public in 2024.

Amidst the ongoing transition to a new pension system in the Netherlands, Dutch pension fund managers are finding little bandwidth these days to explore fresh investment ideas for the coming year. Against this backdrop, asset managers face hurdles in gaining their attention, with only essential risk management being the focal point for many.

Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, on Thursday declined to provide forward guidance on the direction of Eurozone interest rates but said that its decision in December will be made based on updated data on inflation and on the actual economic impact of its monetary policy.

With 29 new funds registered, last month was the best September in three years for new Raifs issuance, data analysis by Investment Officer Luxembourg shows. Raifs are Reserved Alternative Investment Funds. In Luxembourg these vehicles in recent years have gained significant international traction among those active in private assets such as credit, real estate and private equity.

Which public companies do the best rated fund managers want in their portfolios? Researchers at London-based data analysis firm Citywire on Monday released a new data set that shows in which equities the world’s portfolio managers prefer to invest with the highest degree of conviction.

The industry’s objections to a divisive EU Retail Investment Package are being heard in Brussels, it has become clear in recent weeks. Investors could end up pulling the short straw, critics argue. ABBL says a clearer definition of retail investors is important for private banks and wealth managers.

Investment fund costs for both retail investors and institutions have become more volatile in 2022, according to data analysed by London-based Fitz Partners.

About one third - or 35 percent - of funds whose fees were changed last year have witnessed an increase in their charges to investors, with institutional equity funds leading the charge, according to data on around 40,000 fund share classes analysed by Fitz.

Global investors are increasingly favouring businesses with localised supply chains in response to geopolitical uncertainty and inflation, according to the Schroders Institutional Investor Study for 2023.