Raymond Frenken

In an age where financial success often overshadows our responsibility towards the environment and society, there is a growing need for investment strategies that align with our values and contribute to a sustainable future. Enter the terrAssisi Equity Fund, a unique investment initiative that draws inspiration from the timeless values of Saint Francis of Assisi, blending financial acumen with ethical considerations.

According to a recent study conducted by Brussels-based NGO Better Finance and Germany’s DSW, reclaiming withholding tax in Europe remains an arduous and costly endeavor. The study, which surveyed 3,000 European investors, unveiled the considerable challenges faced by non-professional investors in reclaiming taxes paid twice on cross-border dividend income, making it financially impractical. The European Commission is poised to present proposals in June to alleviate obstacles and prevent double taxation.

Given the significant resources and costs that the asset management has incurred to date, many investment firms are hopeful that the European Commission, in its upcoming review, will allow enough flexibility in application of the rules so that firms are not required to incur further costs, significantly change their processes, or potentially SFDR classifications, says Rebecca Palmer, ESG director at Dublin-headquartered management company Waystone. 

Costs of investment funds continue to be a divisive topic in the fund and asset management business. Are investors really paying 40% too much? Or ‘only’ 25%? What are they actually paying for? In Luxembourg, home to a third of Europe’s 30,000 Ucits funds, this discussion could lead to major changes in the coming years, like it already has in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Given the increasing complexity of financial markets, private banking clients in Luxembourg, especially younger groups, are more willing to seek out financial advice than clients elsewhere in Europe, according to the Luxembourg edition of EY’s Global Wealth Report released on Thursday.

Market consolidation, pressure on cost and the weight of regulation have reduced the total number of Management Companies in Luxembourg by four last year. The latest edition of PwC’s annual Manco Observatory nevertheless sees this industry as “very dynamic”, with 11 new Manco’s having been set up in the last year.

Global financial services provider Apex Group claims being the first in the industry to offset its entire lifetime of carbon emissions. The Bermuda-headquartered firm has offset its emissions back to 2003 with certified and audited offsetting projects, it reports in its first Sustainability Report.

Fears in the financial sector that the reputation of institutions - banks as well as fund managers - might suffer as an indirect consequence of stringent sustainable finance regulations might deter firms from developing new ESG products or could make them reluctant to finance companies that claim to be green or sustainable.

Institutional investment portfolios in Europe could do with more venture capital, especially when it comes to making green impact investments, the Netherlands’ technology investment envoy Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau said in an IO Talks podcast interview. Van Oranje, who leads Amsterdam-based Techleap, a Dutch government sponsored tech investment initiative, spoke about the global business climate for technology investments, the effects of rising interest rates on tech investments, dilemmas around artificial intelligence, and the new Nato Investment Fund, which is being structured via Luxembourg.

It’s the middle of May and the full-year results are in. For publicly listed companies it would be yesterday’s news. Tax filings have been made and many firms even reported their first quarter. But in private equity, with its long-term perspectives, the ‘old’ data still can be worthy of a cover story, certainly when it comes to a year like 2022, marked by war, inflation and surging interest rates. The Q4 2022 Burgiss report shows how the market did.