Asset Manager

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary and key architect of President Trump’s economic agenda, is being discussed as a potential successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Bloomberg cited anonymous sources saying his name has been floated for the role.

Some analysts are talking about the end of dollar dominance. They primarily point to the erosion of international trust among trade partners and the high debt levels of the United States. A weakening appears to be on the horizon, they write.

This week’s overview of people transfers and appointments in and around Luxembourg includes updates from Quintet Private Bank, Banque Raiffeisen and PWC Luxembourg.

The US dollar has experienced a spectacular decline in recent months. Investors call it a correction, analysts see a turning point, and pessimists even predict the end of dollar hegemony. But let’s pause for a moment. While the dollar is indeed falling rapidly, it is far from collapsing.

There’s an 82 percent chance the 10-year Treasury yield will exceed 7 percent before the end of the decade, according to Joe Davis, global chief economist at Vanguard. The odds of yields topping 9 percent? One in five.

Continuation funds face mounting criticism over self-dealing and inflated valuations. Private equity specialists however see reality as more nuanced.

“Diversification is the only free lunch in investing,” said Harry M. Markowitz, the father of modern portfolio theory. He referred to the idea that broad diversification is likely the best way to limit portfolio risk without sacrificing returns.

Dividend investors are bracing for potential fallout from Section 899, a provision in Donald Trump’s proposed One Big, Beautiful Bill Act that could sharply raise US withholding taxes on dividends and interest income.

Are defense investments compatible with the principles of sustainable investing? At a conference in Brussels, the answers ranged from “maybe” to a firm “no”.

Economists have a knack for elevating seemingly simple assumptions into so-called science—even though economics isn’t really a science at all. Nevertheless, endless books are written about a single abstract interest rate number.