Mike Gordon

Part of Luxembourg’s effort to tackle allegations that it enables questionable business and tax practices through a lack of transparency will be significantly upgraded through new rules, technical capacities, increased staff and administrative penalties by 2023.

Under a reform project involving a draft Grand-Ducal regulation announced last week, the Luxembourg government body that makes available business registration information – including a ultimate beneficial owner registry -  will be overhauled and have its staff doubled.

Spacs – special purpose acquisition vehicles – had a very good year in 2021, with some 600 Spacs raising 165 billion dollars but they are, like the rest of the economy, adapting to the new post-Covid economic reality. Many investment banking and legal experts active in the Spac field see them continuing to do well.

There’s a strong level of interest in crypto finance in Luxembourg’s financial centre, according to a survey carried out by the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology and PwC. The Grand Duchy nevertheless has yet to develop the necessary infrastructure to be a leading crypto finance centre.

The survey, entitled “Crypto-assets: Paradigm shift or short-term trend?” was carried out in the last quarter of 2021 and was presented on Wednesday at a Luxembourg event hosted by PwC.

Record levels of funds invested into private asset strategies has led to the phenomenon of “too much dry powder” in which new investments fuel higher entry valuations for the slower-growing number of underlying investment opportunities. Nils Rode, Schroders Capital’s Chief Investment Officer, explained that avoiding this involves locating successful investments, those that benefit from a “complexity premium”, as private assets move into a new phase.

As digital assets are in focus for investors, there is a less visible, less shiny side to at least the Bitcoin story. While the total potential number of Bitcoins is fixed at 21 million, they haven’t all been created yet. New Bitcoins can be ‘mined’ through power-intensive computer analysis, which has a significant carbon footprint, according to Marion Laboure, senior economist at Deutsche Bank in London. There’s also a contrasting view, as set out by US-based portfolio manager Mark L. Casey at Capital Group.

Luxembourg companies from small to large are taking strides in the realm of virtual assets. This market is still under construction and regulatory and infrastructural elements are still pending. Several companies were represented at the recent Luxembourg For Finance Digital Capital Raising webinar, along with a representative of Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF.

It may be only 8 years away, but many representatives of Luxembourg’s financial centre have clear visions of a 2030 of higher technology but also a commitment to ESG values, but which may be a challenge to bring about.

Quintet Private Bank today announced the launch of the “world’s first multi-asset, climate-neutral investment fund”, Essential Portfolio Selection (EPS) Quintet Earth after raising some 280 million euros in funding. This UCITS fund “combines equal exposure to green bonds and low carbon equities”. The fund offsets associated carbon emissions through reforestation activities.

The new corporate taxation rules from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) join earlier reforms that collectively pose economic and fiscal risks to the Luxembourg economy, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Tax experts say it is possible that some non-financial multinationals located here might decide to leave because of the new OECD rules.

Investors are increasingly turning to alternative instruments for diversification, risk mitigation and to future-proof their returns, especially given today’s market conditions. This has resulted in surging interest in alternative investments from a wider variety of market participants, which is forcing the alternative asset servicing industry to adapt to new demands.