Laws and Regulations

Martine Solovieff, Luxembourg’s top criminal prosecutor, has issued a stark warning regarding the country’s persistent struggle with financial crime investigations, citing overwhelming caseloads and staffing shortages as key obstacles.

In a move to strengthen valuation practices across the investment fund industry, Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF on Wednesday unveiled a glimpse of plans to revise its valuation guidelines for investment fund managers. The update is due in 2025.

The AIFMD 2 introduces new rules for loan-originating alternative investment funds, but uncertainties remain around the potential for a cross-border “lending passport,” writes Loyens & Loeff’s Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra, member of Investment Officer’s expert panel.

Luxembourg’s financial regulator has issued a relatively small fine for a class of transgression with huge implications for the industry: valuations of funds, in particular for unlisted alternative investments.

Luxembourg’s financial watchdog, the CSSF, has made important changes to its rules for valuations of investment funds, the first in two decades. While many things stay the same, some key updates—like lowering limits for money market funds and adding new checks before making investment decisions—are aimed at tightening control and providing clearer guidance.

Former Portuguese finance minister and Morgan Stanley banker Maria Luís Albuquerque, known for her austerity-heavy tenure during the eurozone crisis, is now the European Commission’s nominee for the influential role of Commissioner for Financial Services. Her appointment has already ignited controversy.

JP Morgan and State Street have reinforced their dominance in Luxembourg’s fund industry, according to the latest Monterey Insights Luxembourg Fund Report 2024.

The revamped Eltif 2.0 framework, effective since January, is breathing new life into the sector, with Luxembourg playing a central role in this expansion of the market for European Long-Term Investment Funds.

As Europe seeks ways to address greenwashing, supervisors have proposed broad reforms to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regime (SFDR). To enhance transparency, they propose stricter labelling. Together with the addition of a transition investing category, these changes could redefine sustainable investing.

In the apparently almost never-ending battle against greenwashing, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) set a next step by publishing, on 21 August 2024, its new guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the Guidelines).