Wealth Managers

Anthos Fund & Asset Management BV, the asset manager of the Brenninkmeijer family’s holding company Cofra, takes pride in moving with the times. It is working on a major transformation, no mean feat in view of the international laws and regulations. Once the veil is lifted, Anthos will transform from a single to a multi-family office. 

Belgian private bank Degroof Petercam, which has a significant presence in Luxembourg, has warned of ongoing uncertainty in financial markets as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which it said “undermines financial markets”.

The bank has announced a strong increase in net profits for 2021 as revenue growth outpaced rising operating costs. The bank also announced that former CEO and head of private banking Bruno Colmant is stepping down after seven years. Sabine Caudron will take over from Colmant as head of private banking. 

In an interview with Investment Officer, Ritesh Jain, an influential global macro strategist, trend watcher and advisor to family offices and investment companies from India, says that with Russia’s expulsion from the Swift digital payments system, the West is crossing a dangerous divide that will have far-reaching consequences for the global world order. “Globalisation, as we know it, is probably over.”

This week’s relative calm in equity and bond markets is in stark contrast with last month’s turbulence. Investors appear to have put concerns over the war in Ukraine on hold for a while. Some market experts warn however that “sentiment may be too positive”. Illiquid corporate bonds are seen as a safe haven.

The economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave both equities and bonds a volatile first quarter. Nevertheless, most of the losses incurred were quickly recouped.

The popularity of digital assets will lead to significant changes for the financial industry, including within the area of asset custody. Today’s global custody industry goes back to regulatory changes in the 1970s. Digital assets, the most well-known being Bitcoin, differ in several ways from traditional assets, including the role of information technology, specifically of private key management, which will be accompanied by potential regulatory differences.

Capital Group and Impax are the asset management firms that won the 2022 Morningstar Awards for Excellence in Investing in Luxembourg, the investment research firm has announced. Funds managed by Fundsmith, Comgest, BlueBay and Capital Group have won individual Morningstar awards. 

The head of Luxembourg’s top financial regulator on Tuesday called on the country’s asset management industry to step up its efforts and make sure that Russian oligarchs don’t evade sanctions by hiding their money in European investment funds.

It almost sounds like a call to run for the hills. Get rid of your risky assets, go defensive, and play volatility as an asset class. Sell European equities and buy Swiss. Now that the Russia-Ukraine war shows no signs of abating, Christophe Donay, Chief Strategist at Swiss-based Pictet Wealth Management, fears that excessive global debt has made the world economy vulnerable to a new systemic crisis. 

Dutch financial group ING is bracing for a criminal indictment in Luxembourg over its failure to properly manage anti-money laundering (AML) processes at its unit in the Grand Duchy.

The bank said it was informed in January by a Luxembourg investigating judge that he intends to instruct the relevant prosecutor to prepare a criminal indictment regarding shortcomings in the anti-money laundering at ING Luxembourg.

Luxembourg has joined the international move to impose sanctions against Russia for its ruthless invasion of Ukraine. It has followed steps taken by other European and global countries and organisations, including condemning Russia’s aggression, even sending some weaponry and equipment to Ukraine’s beleaguered defenders. But there’s one area where Luxembourg appears to be out of step: the high profile application of the sanctions to Russian oligarchic assets held in this country.