Asset Servicing

Canada’s main pension fund, CPP Investments, has agreed to become a major shareholder in Universal Investment, a leading third-party Super ManCo in Luxembourg, by acquiring a significant stake in the firm from private equity and venture capital firm Montagu. The deal demonstrates that investors worldwide see further potential in Luxembourg’s growing asset services market.

Finland’s Mandatum Asset Management and fund services platform Universal Investment on Monday said they have launched a new open-ended Senior Secured Loan Fund for professional investors in Europe that will finance leveraged buyouts in Scandinavia and Europe. The fund is structured as a Luxembourg Raif and targets approximately one billion euro on the long term.

Growth in funds registered as Reserved Alternative Investment Funds, known as Raifs, in Luxembourg has increased considerably in the first half of this year , according to an analysis of data from the Luxembourg Business Registry by Investment Officer Luxembourg.

Luxembourg-based investment services provider IQ-EQ has named Shaun Geils as its global head of insurance.

Geils is stepping into a newly-created position intended to support IQ-EQ’s service offering from the firm’s London office in the United Kingdom.

After Thursday’s announcement of Apex Group’s acquisition of Sanne Group plc enabled the firm to position itself as a global, top-tier independence service provider, servicing nearly 3 trillion US dollars in assets, Investment Officer Luxembourg asked Renaud Oury, Apex’s Chief Revenue and Data Officer to speak about the significance of the deal, particularly for Luxembourg.

Global financial services provider Apex Group Ltd announced on Thursday the close of its acquisition of Sanne Group plc, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate services.

Manchester-based distressed debt trader Arrow Global Limited has announced it is opening an office in Luxembourg in order to benefit from the Grand Duchy’s position as a global investment fund hub and to put in place “the optimum infrastructure” to support investment strategies for its debt funds.

Jersey-based management company Crestbridge said it has appointed Anne Catherine Grave as country head of Luxembourg. The firm has been active in the Grand Duchy since 2010.

Grave will be responsible for leading the business in the region and will provide administrative, accounting, reporting, residency, and governance needs to a broad range of fund structures. She will be based in Luxembourg. Grave has more than 20 years’ experience in the private equity and real estate sectors.

Apex Group on Monday said it has been appointed to provide corporate, administrative and trustee services to the Nasdaq-listed Luxembourg platform of Eqonex Limited, a digital assets financial services company. Eqonex recently launched an Exchange Traded Note  in bitcoin on Frankfurt’s Xetra market.

Foord Asset Management, a firm with South African roots and a Luxembourg presence since 2013, is expanding its global reach by offering long-term investors in Australia a new feeder fund for its Foord Global Equity Fund registered in the Grand Duchy.

The new Foord Global Equity Australian Feeder Fund invests exclusively in the Foord Sicav- Foord Global Equity Fund (Luxembourg). The fund held assets worth 472 million dollars at the end of 2021, with holdings in for example Alphabet, Tencent, JD.com, Freeport-McMoran and Alibaba.