Investment Officer

Apex Group is adding another firm to its growing string of acquisitions, announcing that it plans to take over Amsterdam-based Darwin Depositary Services, a firm that provides depositary services to alternative investment funds in Europe. Financial details were not disclosed.

As the only independent AIFMD depositary in mainland Europe, Darwin provides services to a range of international clients, including hedge funds, real estate, debt and private equity funds as well as funds investing in infrastructure and renewable energy.

US asset manager Columbia Threadneedle on Monday said it has completed the rebranding of the European activities of BMO Global Asset Management, bringing its products and savings plans together under a single brand.

Europe’s asset management industry on Wednesday called on governments across Europe to take additional actions such as introducing new tax incentives to protect retail investors and savers against inflation. 

Two-thirds of Europe’s institutional investors plan to stop investing in non-ESG funds by the end of next year, according to fresh survey data released on Monday. Nearly 72 percent of them are willing to pay a premium for ESG products, while a similar majority of European asset managers wants to stop launching non-ESG products by 2024.

Luxembourg’s fund industry supports the introduction in new EU retail finance legislation of more lenient ‘opt-up’ criteria for retail clients that would give them the same status as professional clients. At the same time, it opposes the creation of a new category of semi-professional investors.

The European Council and the European Parliament have taken an important step towards the implementation of a new sustainability reporting system in Europe. It concerns the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD, which requires companies to have their reported sustainability information independently verified.

An investment portfolio today should consist predominantly of US assets. Impact investing is sustainable investing 2.0 and long duration assets continue to struggle. That is what independent investment expert Jan Longeval said during the closing debate of Portfolio Day, which Investment Officer organised in Brussels last Thursday. 

European Depositary Bank, the Luxembourg-based provider of banking, depositary and custody solutions, on Monday announced that it has appointed David Claus as CEO and member of its board of directors. Claus until recently was the Luxembourg head of BNY Mellon.

The bank, known as EDB, is part of Apex Group and is one of the largest providers of depositary services in Europe for regulated Ucits and alternative funds, with over 160 billion in assets under depositary as of May 31.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine on 24 February this year is a “turning point and a milestone in European history. Its impact is enormous. No policy area remains unaffected.” So said Steven Van Hecke, professor of international relations at the KU Leuven university on Thursday at Investment Officer’s Portfolio Day in Brussels. 

Mutual funds saw net outflows last month at a rate of more than one billion euro per day, while firms selling Exchange Traded Funds experienced a small level of net inflows, according to new data from Refinitiv Lipper. 

Mutual funds experienced net outflows of 32.3 billion euro last month, compared to net inflows of 2.5 billion for Exchange Traded Funds.