Asset Manager

ASML shares took a hit last week, after the company had risen in January to become Europe’s largest listed company. That has once again fuelled the question of whether the Dutch chip-equipment maker has become too big, too loved and too expensive. But how convincing are those doubts, really?

Sustainable funds recorded their first full year of net outflows in 2025, after investors withdrew 84 billion dollars from ESG strategies worldwide, according to Morningstar data. While the headline figure suggests a sharp break with previous years, Morningstar said it overstates the extent to which investors are abandoning sustainable investing.

In the new multipolar world order, globalization is a thing of the past. Yet Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, still advises investors to allocate capital across continents. She recently flew in from Singapore for a European roadshow with investors.

With a new Fed chair on the way, subject to approval by the U.S. Senate, it seemed like a good moment to take another look at “inflation.” And especially at inflation expectations, because they largely determine the behavior of consumers and investors alike. What I see is far from reassuring.

The appointment of Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve was met with relief by markets worldwide. Gold crashed 9 percent, silver 28 percent. It was not only American investors who reacted. The whole world was watching. And that is exactly the point.

Valuation sits at the heart of Luxembourg’s private markets ecosystem, yet supervisors remain unconvinced that current practices are consistently robust. Speaking at an event organised by Kroll and the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, the CSSF flagged shortcomings in the review and approval of valuation models at investment fund managers, underlining that governance, documentation and independent challenge still require closer attention as private assets continue to scale.

Multi-asset benchmarks assume costless and frictionless implementation, setting a high bar for allocation funds to outperform after fees. Even so, these “one-stop-shop” solutions remain appealing for many investors.

Chinese equities have outperformed Wall Street for two consecutive years, yet the label ‘uninvestable’ continues to stick, analysts say. China bulls have not abandoned the market, but they remain divided over whether state-owned enterprises should be kept or avoided.

Luxembourg has renewed the mandate of Claude Marx as director general of its financial regulator, extending his leadership of the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier for another five years as the authority marks a decade of profound institutional change.

This week’s overview of appointments and other people news in and around Luxembourg.