Raymond Frenken

External portfolio reviews are becoming a core strategic tool for wealth managers navigating volatile markets. For firms like Natixis Investment Managers, Blackrock, and Morgan Stanley, these second opinions deepen client engagement and sharpen their competitive edge.

In a landmark judgment with international resonance, a Luxembourg district court has, for the first time, convicted a domestic bank of money laundering, ordering the confiscation of 25 million euro from Edmond de Rothschild (Europe) S.A. for its role in the cross-border misappropriation of funds from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

In an era of industry consolidation and shrinking margins, Allianz Global Investors is choosing defiance over dependence.

As Europe boosts defence spending and investors adapt to geopolitical uncertainty, Allianz Global Investors has adjusted its sustainability criteria to include certain defence-related investments. Firms with more than 10 percent of their turnover from defence equipment and those that produce nuclear weapons now are considered eligible.

After more than thirty years of falling rates, globalization and passive dominance, a new era is forcing investors to rethink the rules.

Morningstar finds asset managers growing organically deliver better outcomes than those pursuing mergers. Scale alone rarely benefits investors or fund performance.

Friedrich Merz’s failure to secure a Bundestag majority has shaken Berlin’s political establishment and cast serious doubt over the ambitious economic reform agenda promised by Germany’s new coalition government.

ESG hasn’t disappeared. It is simply speaking a different language.

European banks are scaling back commercial real estate lending on the back of tighter capital requirements under the ‘Basel III’ rules. The retreat has opened the door for private credit funds to move deeper into property finance.