Asset Manager

US asset managers are finding common ground on one point: the short end of the U.S. Treasury curve is where investors should be. The reasoning behind that stance, however, differs sharply.

ABN Amro’s private banking operations are a key asset for parties considering a takeover of the bank, even though the division’s financial results are generally weaker than those of its competitors.

Wat als de sleutel tot het begrijpen van marktrendementen niet in de balansen van bedrijven ligt, maar in de portefeuilles van de mensen die ze bezitten?

French assets came under renewed pressure on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned just hours after unveiling his cabinet. The selloff in equities and widening OAT–Bund spreads reinforced what economists and strategists describe as a new normal: a volatile, fragmented France where politics, not policy, drives market sentiment.

The CSSF has ordered all Luxembourg-based investment fund managers to review and, if necessary, correct their sustainability risk policies and disclosures, following a Europe-wide supervisory exercise that found compliance broadly satisfactory but still in need of significant improvement. The order also applies to managers of so-called Article 6 funds, which do not claim ESG characteristics.

As I’m still reflecting on the Fund Event 2025, where it became objectively clear that Europe needs to take action and learn to look at and approach things differently, the United States just keeps steaming ahead.

Exceptional investment strategies are rare, as reflected in Morningstar’s qualitative fund ratings. Fewer than 6 percent of actively managed funds qualitatively assessed by Morningstar analysts in Europe achieve a High score on both the People and Process pillars, placing them in the highest conviction category.

Luxembourg’s private debt market has been flourishing. But products that can pose systemic risks, difficulties with valuation, and potential misunderstandings of the risks involved in the market are issues lurking in the shadows.

The long-assumed stability of Europe is over. Wars on the periphery, a crumbling system of free world trade, and great powers using economic interdependence as a weapon: the continent is under pressure. “The world in which investors must navigate has become more unpredictable.”

This week’s overview of people transfers and appointments includes updates from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, KPMG and BDO Luxembourg, and Marktlink Capital.