Geert Dekker

While some players are abandoning quant investing, others are expanding their positions in this domain. Scale is becoming increasingly important in quant investing, says Weili Zhou, Deputy CIO and Head of Quant Investing at Robeco, home to the largest quant team in the Netherlands.

The market for joint EU bonds is likely to grow significantly in the coming years. In any case, the likelihood of this has increased considerably following the outcome of Sunday’s German parliamentary elections. This is according to financial analysts, asset managers and institutional investors.

The number of ETFs listed on Euronext exchanges rose by 5 percent last year, exceeding 4.000, while the number of investment funds declined by the same percentage to just over 2.300. In the United States, the number of ETFs grew by approximately 15 percent in 2024, reaching 3.920.

With the acquisition of Axa Investment Managers by the French banking group BNP Paribas, the European asset management sector strengthens its position against “the Americans”. However, more is needed to halt the shift of managed assets from Europe to the United States.

Swap rates have fallen below European government bond yields for several weeks—a rare shift that is forcing institutional investors to reconsider their interest rate hedging strategies.

The year 2025 can only be an exceptional one for equities if geopolitical stability materialises, a prospect that seems unlikely. Large asset managers are once again emphasising diversification to withstand the anticipated volatility.

Avoid European equities and steer clear of most bonds. According to major investment houses, this is the key strategy to prevent issues in investment portfolios next year.

Impact investments still face challenges in differentiating themselves on the very metrics they champion, unlike conventional investments focused purely on financial returns, according to Stephen Liberatore, lead ESG-fixed income portfolio manager at Nuveen.

At the recent AFME European Sustainable Finance Conference in Amsterdam, Investment Officer spoke to both Helena Viňes Fiestas, chair of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, and Raoul Köhler, Sustainable Finance Coordinator at the AFM.

Ambitious growth plans for J.P. Morgan Private Bank in the Benelux mirror the broader trend of consolidation in private banking, highlighting industry-wide expansions and strategic transformations in the low countries.