Investment Officer

Jersey-headquartered Aztec Group has announced the launch of its Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) service in Luxembourg. This new service offers a range of support functions required by alternative investment managers establishing and managing European alternative investment funds. The services include marketing, compliance, risk management, regulatory reporting, and portfolio management.

Dear reader, with the power struggle between China and the U.S., geopolitics has made a comeback on the investor agenda. Reason for us as editors to create a series on geopolitics and investing. In seven episodes, we will discuss various geopolitical and market shifts that are changing the investor landscape, from Europe’s challenges to China’s rise, AI impacts and the global energy transition.

Emmanuel Gutton, a well-known legal expert in Luxembourg who until recently served as deputy CEO at the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (Alfi), has joined New York-headquartered law firm White & Case LLP as funds partner. 

Gutton will advise on the creation, structuring and conversion of funds across a wide range of asset classes including private equity and real estate. The firm said he will also assist in setting-up and advising investment fund managers. 

Luxembourg’s financial supervisor Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, CSSF, and Alfi, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, will host a joint webinar on 6 June to discuss the new new rules for investment funds concerning errors in Net Asset Value (NAV) calculations, breaches of investment rules, and other related errors in investment funds. The CSSF announced the new rules in March as per CSSF Circular 24/856. 

Vanguard Group has announced that Salim Ramji, formerly of BlackRock, will become its new CEO on July 8th. Ramji, who will also join the board of directors, will take over from Tim Buckley.

Until recently, Ramji was responsible for BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index investments divisions, where he managed to grow the ETF business from $1 trillion to $2.5 trillion.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Gen II Fund Services, Nuveen, PWC Luxembourg, Robeco, Candriam and Ark Invest. 

Gül Poslu

Gül Poslu (photo) has been named head of Benelux at Nuveen, a global asset manager with over some 1.200 billion in assets under management.

The latest edition of the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Global Asset Management Report provides a stark portrait of today’s asset management industry. Despite a robust 12 percent growth in global assets under management, reaching a formidable 120.000 billion dollars in 2023, the sector faces significant headwinds. Rising costs, eroding revenues, and the fading allure of traditional asset management approaches paint a troubling picture.

Degroof Petercam, Belgium’s largest private bank with a significant presence in Luxembourg, on Wednesday posted a double-digit decline in its full year net profit because of one-time costs related to sale of a majority stake to France’s Credit Agricole group and due to higher tax pressure.

Addressing its business performance, the firm said its private banking business improved due to higher interest rates, while its asset management activities faced a decline in revenues. 

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Euroclear, Norton Rose Fulbright, Mourant Luxembourg and Pictet.

Valérie Urbain

Valérie Urbain (photo) has officially been appointed as chief executive officer of Euroclear, with her appointment having been approved at the May 3 annual general meeting. She will replace Lieve Mostrey.

Swiss-headquarterted private equity firm Partners Group has announced the launch of a new private equity European Long-Term Investment Fund (Eltif), opening up its private offerings also to retail investors. The fund is its first new private equity fund under the updated Eltif regime.

The Partners Group Private Equity Evergreen was already registered in Luxembourg last December and has a minimum investment threshold of 10,000 euro. The fund will be available to investors across Europe, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the Benelux regions.