Investment Officer

The traditional portfolio manager, meticulously sifting through a hefty stack of research and diligently inputting annual reports into a valuation model, seems to be a fading image from the past. For banks and asset managers to stand out, they must wholeheartedly adopt artificial intelligence, posits Gerben de Zwart of APG, one of Europe’s largest asset managers, overseeing approximately 541 billion euros for Dutch pensioners.

Inflation concerns continue to shape market predictions. “For three months, we witnessed impressive figures, but then oil prices spiked unexpectedly. This isn’t a fleeting issue,” commented Mary Pieterse-Bloem, chief investment officer of Rabobank, in the CIO Debate at Investment Officer’s 16th Fondsevent conference in the Netherlands on Monday.

Anna Zakrzewski has been appointed as the new Group Chief Operating Officer at Quintet Private Bank, headquartered in Luxembourg and active across Europe and the UK. Zakrzewski will take over from Eli Leenaars, who plans to retire at the end of the year. Her role will also extend to the authorized management committee, pending regulatory clearance.

DWS, the asset management subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, finds itself in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The investment management giant has been charged on two fronts: making misleading claims about its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment practices and lacking a robust Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework. To settle these charges, DWS will be parting with 25 million dollars in penalties.

In the world of technology and innovation, few names command as much respect as Geoffrey Hinton, often dubbed the “Godfather of AI.” However, recent remarks from this AI luminary have sparked a heated debate on the role of artificial intelligence in our society. Monday’s FondsEvent conference by Investment Officer delved into the heart of this debate.

This week’s overview of transfers and appointments includes appointments at Apex Group and at EY.

Stephen Geddes

Stephen Geddes (photo) has been appointed as regional head for the United Kingdom at global asset services provider Apex Group.  He joined Apex from Mainspring Fund Services, where he was the founder and CEO. Apex acquired Mainspring in September last year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s recent announcement that U.S. interest rates will hold steady at 5.25% to 5.5% has sparked a debate among investment professionals about what would be best for asset owners: a “soft landing” or a full-blown recession?

FE fundinfo, a Luxembourg-based specialist in fund information, has announced the acquisition of Paris-based firm Adjuto. The move aims to bolster its fee and distribution channel management solutions. Financial details were not disclosed.

Monex Europe S.A., a commercial foreign exchange specialist, has relocated to a larger office in downtown Luxembourg to accommodate its growth and future expansion plans and ambitions to expand its services in private equity and investment funds.

The 29th edition of the Monterey Insight Luxembourg Fund Report reveals that unregulated funds are outperforming their regulated counterparts in a big way, signalling a potential paradigm shift for the Grand Duchy. Unregulated funds, especially reserved alternative investment funds (Raifs), have seen a surge in asset value. Raifs alone have increased their assets to the equivalent of 458.4 billion dollars, marking a 38.6% rise from last year’s 330.8 billion dollars, said Monterey.