Investment Officer

While the plunge in the Ark Innovation ETF, a once-popular technology fund with about 50 billion dollars in assets, has made some investors question the fund’s strategy, Ark’s long-revered manager Cathie Wood made clear on Monday that she has not lost her faith in the power of innovation.

Financial markets started another volatile week on Monday, extending their declines after leading stock market indices fell sharply on Friday amid worries about the ripple-effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Oil prices surged further on Monday, with North Sea Brent crude trading near a record high 139 dollars per barrel amid talk of a ban on Russian oil imports.

Russia ETFs or funds are dropping out of the market in droves. Some are still open, as market makers manage to keep them barely alive. But for how much longer?

German Chancellor Scholz’s announcement that he is making 100 billion euro available from the federal budget to strengthen national and European defence has not missed the mark. German Rheinmetall shares extended gains on Tuesday, adding another 18 percent after to close at an alltime high of 157,20 euros, down from its 52-week average of 76.28 euros. ETFs focused on defence and aerospace have also gained since the war in Ukraine.

Worldwide net inflows into Exchange Traded Funds with an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) profile fell to 9.8 billion dollars in January compared to 19.8 billion dollars the same month a year earlier, according to London-based research firm ETFGI.

The firm said ESG funds now have experienced 37 consecutive months of net inflows.

Issuance of ESG debt in Europe almost doubled last year as more sovereign and supranational issuers entered the market and governments adopted sustainable finance programmes. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe sees more growth this year due to greater participation by the corporate sector and the potential of the ESG securitisation market.

Global financial markets are on tenterhooks on Tuesday, 22-2-22, after Russian President Vladimir Putin late on Monday recognised the separatists in the east of the Ukraine’s and ordered his troops into Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 

Putin’s aggression means investors now face fresh uncertainty as the ongoing geopolitical developments will have consequences for the economy, for monetary policy, for cohesion among European countries and for transatlantic relations. 

The global ETF industry attracted some 76.4 billion dollars (67.2 billion euro) in net inflows in January, down from 84.38 billion dollars the same month a year earlier, according to ETFGI, a London-based research and consultancy firm.

Assets invested in the global industry for ETFs - Exchange Traded Funds - decreased by 3.9 percent to 9.9 billion dollars, down from a record 10.3 billion in December as a result of declining markets.

Amundi, Europe’s biggest asset manager, on Wednesday said that it has created the Amundi Institute as a new division that will help investors better determine their asset allocation and help them construct their portfolios in an increasingly complex and changing world.

Amundi’s Global Head of Research Monica Defend (pictured) will serve as head of Amundi Institute. Pascal Blanqué has been appointed President of the institute and will oversee the new business line. 

Two of Luxembourg’s biggest asset services companies, Apex and Universal-Investment, have recently strengthened their client services teams.