Asset Servicing

With the recent appointment of Luxembourg branch manager Riccardo Lamanna to an executive role at State Street Bank International, the Boston-based financial services firm now is refining its European operations from Luxembourg.

Creating European Long-Term Investment Funds (Eltifs) as sub-funds under existing alternative investment funds has become a bit easier in Luxembourg. Firms no longer need to fill out a separate CSSF approval form for a new sub-fund when adding an Eltif-class to an existing fund.

The celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Sicar structure, Luxembourg’s first private markets fund vehicle, has underlined the need for further reforms in Luxembourg and its globally envied fund management sector.

Riccardo Lamanna has been appointed by State Street Corporation as head of products for State Street Bank International. He will retain his responsibilities as country head Luxembourg.

How non-EU investors drive growth in European funds and why vigilance remains crucial in the European investment landscape.

MFS CEO Mike Roberge and Luxembourg head Michael Derwael see actively managed funds - ETFs and mutual funds - as benefitting from a return to higher interest rates, which would take away market share from passive investments and private markets.

Dutch bank ABN Amro on Tuesday said it agreed to pay 672 million euro for German private bank Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe, also known as HAL, from debt-laden Chinese investment company Fosun International. HAL’s asset services activities in Luxembourg and Ireland are excluded from the transaction.

From Tuesday, US trades of stocks, bonds and ETFs will need to be settled within a single day, not two, presenting significant challenges to European funds dealing in US securities.

Luxembourg’s Management Companies, the firms that handle a substantial portion of investments serviced in the Grand Duchy, employed a record 7,700 people at the end of last year, up 11 percent from the previous year. This figure is reported in PwC’s 2024 Barometer for the ManCo sector.

Registrations of new Reserved Alternative Investment Funds (Raifs) in Luxembourg slowed in April, continuing a decline from last December’s peak, reflecting higher interest rates and a market shift towards sub-funds under existing structures.