Investment Officer

Vanguard has edged past BlackRock to secure the top position in Broadridge Financial Solutions’ 2024 Fund Brand 50 (FB50) rankings for the United States. Vanguard also has emerged as the biggest riser among the FB50 rankings in Europe, where it now is a top-10 fund brand.

Luxembourg continues to dominate the global cross-border fund registration landscape, holding a 54.6 percent market share despite a slight 0.4 percent drop in 2023, according to PwC Luxembourg’s latest Global Fund Distribution Poster. The 24th edition of this annual posted provides an in-depth analysis of the fund distribution trends across over 40 countries.

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has imposed a fine of 162,500 euro on Intertrust (Luxembourg) S.à r.l., a specialist in the professional financial sector, for not adhering to its custodial duties as outlined in Luxembourg’s financial sector legislation, particularly concerning the management of non-financial assets.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), the EU’s financial markets regulator, has fined the European rating agency Scope 2.2 million euro for breaches of the Credit Rating Agencies (CRA) Regulation. The penalty is for Scope’s failure to manage conflicts of interest adequately, involving both structural and specific non-compliance issues.

Sweden-based Carnegie Fonder, an independent asset management stalwart, has ushered in Universal Investment Group as the new management company for its Luxembourg-based Ucits Sicav fund range. The announcement marks a significant phase in the operations of Carnegie Fonder, a venerable entity within the Carnegie Group with a history spanning over two centuries.

Morningstar on Monday posted its European asset flows data for February 2024, revealing significant investor interest in equity and fixed-income funds amidst anticipation of interest-rate cuts.

Europe-domiciled long-term funds reported net inflows of 19.4 billion euro during the month, with equity funds experiencing their second consecutive month of positive inflows, amounting to 5.1 billion euro. This growth was predominantly seen in passive equity funds, which attracted 19.1 billion euro, whereas active equity funds continued to see outflows.

Amundi on Monday announced the expansion of its global equities offering with the launch of the Amundi Prime All Country World Ucits ETF, now listed on Xetra. The Paris-headquartered firm said its new fund aims to offer investors cost-efficient, highly-diversified equity exposure across both developed and emerging markets, boasting the lowest management fees for an all-country ETF on the European market at 0.07%.

The flow of money into sustainable investment funds, notably ESG funds, in Luxembourg significantly reversed last year when compared to a year earlier, according to data presented by the Belgian asset managers association Beama. 

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Belfius, Fidelity International, BeLuThai, and the Luxembourg Press Council.

Sofie Geukens

Sofie Geukens (photo) will take on the role of head of alternative investments at Belgian bank Belfius from 1 April. She currently serves as the firm’s head of investment solutions and fund selection.

Nicolas Bannier (photo) will succeed Christophe Wintgens as Wealth & Asset Management Leader at EY Luxembourg, effective 1 July 2024. Olivier Bertrand will take over from Dietmar Klos as Real Estate Leader, also commencing 1 July 2024.