Claude Marx

Perhaps the most contentious development in Luxembourg’s fund management ecosystem this year was the order to management firms, issued by supervisor CSSF, to report back on the costs of investment funds and look at becoming more efficient.

Investment fund managers of Ucits funds in Luxembourg, home to about a third of all such funds in Europe, were ordered to review, and if necessary correct, the way they calculate the costs and fees of their investment funds and report back to the CSSF before April 1 next year.

Financial regulators across the European Union next year will embark on a comprehensive review of costs that investment firms charge to investors for their investment funds. Claude Marx, director general of Luxembourg financial supervisor CSSF, speaking at the Alfi private assets conference on Wednesday, elaborated on some of the next steps. The industry, he said, needs to maintain its focus on efficiency, which also is in the interests of investors.

The number of complaints received about financial services in Luxembourg last year rose by 25 percent, with clients in Germany and the U.K. accounting for almost half of them, according to the latest CSSF annual report.

The Luxembourg fund industry was given its ESG marching orders last week by CSSF CEO Claude Marx at the Alfi European Asset Management conference. “I am sometimes irritated by those who over inflate small issues or imperfections in this area,” he said.

Luxembourg is discussing the innovative use of a particular liquidity management tool known as “side pockets” in order to deal with the suspensions of investment funds with significant exposure to Russia.

The head of Luxembourg’s top financial regulator on Tuesday called on the country’s asset management industry to step up its efforts and make sure that Russian oligarchs don’t evade sanctions by hiding their money in European investment funds.

Après le redémarrage de l’activité, les sociétés financières luxembourgeoises ont globalement gardé les pratiques qu’elles avaient instaurées durant le confinement. Si celles-ci sont désormais bien ancrées dans les esprits et dans les organisations, des questions fiscales et réglementaires pourraient en réduire la portée… une fois la pandémie éradiquée.

With a warning against excessive regulation, and a call to action on green investing, CSSF director-general Claude Marx, made a typically colourful intervention at Monday’s virtual ALFI conference. He also gave some details of planned local regulation of teleworking arrangements.

“In 2018, 21 banks active [in Luxemburg] for more than three years had a cost to income ratio in excess of 100%, and there could be more this year,” CSSF director general Claude Marx said recently. As in the rest of Europe, Luxembourg’s B2C banks in particular are under diverse pressures. Some tough strategic choices are required.