Asset Manager

While this week’s spike in copper prices may have grabbed headlines, veteran mining executive Ernest Mast, based in Toronto, believes it signals something deeper: a market entering a structural phase shift, complicated by geopolitics, policy, and supply-side inertia.

Large language models may seem brilliant at making predictions, but often it’s just memorization. And that has implications for investors relying on LLMs for economic analysis.

Luxembourg, long seen as the administrative engine of Europe’s fund industry, has evolved into a strategic global hub, with U.S. asset managers leading the charge. Firms like Blackrock, Invesco, and JPMorgan are anchoring cross-border operations in the Grand Duchy, turning it into a launchpad for global growth and highlighting America’s dominant role in shaping Europe’s financial future.

Each week, I think about which macro figure or market theme to explore in this column. Then, out of nowhere, another article pops up about that enormous elephant in the room: our debt-fueled economic system is creaking so loudly that it can’t be ignored.

A combination of increased volatility and ongoing political and economic uncertainty is pushing financial institutions in Europe and Asia toward bonds. Asset allocators at several hundred of these firms expect to significantly increase their allocation to the asset class.

This week’s overview of people transfers and appointments includes updates from Mirabaud, Alfi, Carmignac and River Global.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform many industries. In addition to the software sector, heavy industry and mining may be among the biggest winners, according to experts.

Due to Donald Trump’s erratic policies, all eyes are on the United States bond market, where the bond vigilantes have run wild. But there is also unrest in the Japanese bond market—and perhaps that should worry us even more.

Degroof Petercam, once a pillar of Belgian finance, has now been fully absorbed into the Indosuez group in Luxembourg, marking the end of its independent operations in the Grand Duchy.

It’s a question that concerns every asset manager: to what extent are defense and weapons stocks compatible with the sustainable principles of ESG? A joint report by the labeling organizations Forum Ethibel (Belgium) and LuxFLAG (Luxembourg) doesn’t provide a definitive answer but does outline the many dilemmas involved.