Lenneke Arts

There is a mismatch between asset managers and institutional investors when it comes to ESG, according to PwC Luxembourg’s annual report on the Luxembourg banking sector, which this year places extra emphasis on developments surrounding ESG. The report explains that three-quarters of institutional investors plan to stop investing in non-ESG products next year, but only 14 per cent of fund houses plan to stop marketing non-ESG products. 

Following the integration of private banking into its banking activities in 2019, Triodos is now focusing on the next step: the introduction of an accessible service model for the different groups of investors. 

The question is whether the illiquidity of private markets is still an issue if the market becomes more volatile again. Especially when you realise that liquid markets can also become illiquid.

ING has aligned its asset allocation for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg as of October, as the next step in the centralisation of its investment policy. In the meantime, the private bank has reorganised its customer service in order to create order in a “jungle of service concepts”.

“The new investing generations find it more important than ever that an asset manager embraces diversity. Those who fail to attract diverse people with different opinions will end up seeing assets drain away,” Marie Dzanis of Northern Trust said this in conversation with Fondsnieuws, Investment Officer Luxembourg’s sister publication.

With listed infrastructure companies passing inflation directly on to their customers, investors can use them as a hedge against rising inflation, according Thomas van der Meij of Van Lanschot Kempen, a Dutch wealth management firm active in the Benelux region.

“Communication towers, toll roads and, to a lesser extent, airports perform well in a high-inflation environment. Meanwhile, US railways and energy transmission companies are benefiting from high commodity prices,” he explained. 

“Providers are gearing up to launch their crypto-ETFs in America, Europe and Asia, as soon as the regulator gives permission. As the custodian bank of some of these trackers, State Street is counting on about 20 new products initially, with a variety of products over time, including single asset crypto funds and baskets of cryptos,” said State Street’s Swen Werner, in a conversation with Fondsnieuws, Investment Officer Luxembourg’s sister publication.

Every day, Natixis IM’s head of multi asset James Beaumont and his team wonder how much higher the equity markets can go. Yet, according to him, the issue that is keeping multi asset investors awake at the moment is something else. What should they do with government bonds? 

71 percent of ESG investment funds do not meet the global climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement. Moreover, many explicitly named “climate” funds still appear to invest in fossil fuels. Of the large providers, State Street, UBS and BlackRock in particular achieve poor scores, according to the researchers. 

Five years after he was scouted for ADO’s youth academy in the The Hague, Netherlands, 16-year-old Michael Vakalopoulos was asked if he wanted to play in the Greek national team. It brought him a professional football career, with employers such as ADO, PSV, Vitesse and SC Veendam. At Pimco, the 31-year-old account manager can still put his energies into the company football team that he plays 5-a-side football with.