Jurgen Vluijmans

After a substantial rally, Artificial Intelligence (AI) stocks are still reasonably valued, according to Johannes Jacobi, an AI specialist at Allianz Global Investors. In a conversation with Investment Officer Belgium, Jacobi emphasized that from an investment perspective, the valuations remain favorable, while other sectors are yet to catch up.

Green bonds are becoming mature and are a good diversification in a portfolio because they provide above-average transparency, according to Julien Bras (photo), bond manager at Allianz Global Investors. 

Bras argued that green bonds are an interesting way to get more diversification in bond portfolios. “The main argument for me to include green bonds in portfolio is their transparency compared to traditional bonds.”

The lack of transparency in sustainability legislation and poor corporate disclosure does not mean that we should not strive for sustainable investing and for more inclusion and gender equality in the asset management industry, argues Maxime Carmignac, managing director of Carmignac UK.

Carmignac is a privately-owned French asset management firm with some 32 billion euro in assets under management. The investment firm, founded in 1998, has had a presence also in Luxembourg since 1999.

Belgian crowdlending platform Beebonds is offering investors an opportunity to cofinance the Arche coliving project in Luxembourg. The investment is offered through a 3 million euro green bond, the firm said.

The Arche project is located in Bettembourg, one of Luxembourg City’s main peripheral municipalities. It is the first joint project of the company Picaroon SA. This Luxembourg-based company, founded in 2011, is active in the sale, rental and purchase of ships, as well as in setting up real estate projects.

TINA - There Is No Alternative - is gone. That’s not a bad thing. And don’t write off the 60/40 portfolio just yet. And the asset management industry has had a clear impact on society and sustainability.

Orcadia Asset Management, active in the Benelux and France, has surpassed the 1.1 billion euro mark in assets under management. This allows the asset manager to operate profitably from Luxembourg. “Mergers and acquisitions in the Belgian landscape only make sense if there is a cultural match.”

Infrastructure is not immune to the current economic malaise, but it is important to isolate macroeconomic variables for each investment. “Analysing sectors or asset classes is not enough: you have to analyse each asset to determine its macro impact.”

So says Heiko Schupp (photo), infrastructure fund manager at Columbia Threadneedle, in an interview with InvestmentOfficer.be.

Gold prices have been struggling since the beginning of the year, quoting below $1,700 per ounce, definitely indicating a downward trend. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised rates by 75 basis points in another move to a range of 3 to 3.25 percent. 

“Walking the narrow path” is an expression among central bankers about striking a fragile balance between reining in inflation and not plunging the economy into the ravine. Friday showed how difficult that task has become. 

Boris Radondy, manager of the DNCA Global Sport Equity fund, expects strong growth in the sports sector over the next few years and believes it can present predictable long-term growth.

DNCA Finance’s integration of Ostrum Asset Management in October 2020 added a team of 21 people and 7 billion euro in assets under management, mainly in equity and convertible bond management.