investment funds

In a move to strengthen valuation practices across the investment fund industry, Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF on Wednesday unveiled a glimpse of plans to revise its valuation guidelines for investment fund managers. The update is due in 2025.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced new regulations requiring fund managers to disclose their investment holdings on a monthly basis, replacing the current quarterly reporting schedule.

Russia ETFs or funds are dropping out of the market in droves. Some are still open, as market makers manage to keep them barely alive. But for how much longer?

Top-level European securities markets regulator ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) has announced it will be examining the valuation of UCITS and open-ended alternative investment funds (AIFs) across the EU.

Luxembourg has decided to raise charges for supervising financial institutions by approximately 10 to 15 percent this year, according to an analysis of the Grand Duchy’s recent government decision. The increase was roughly 15 percent for banks, while investment firms were informed of increases of around 10 percent for 2022.

Every year, thousands of new investment funds see the light of day. A catchy name, an attractive website and a slick factsheet tout a new, seemingly well-thought-out investment strategy that offers investors a unique opportunity to respond to current investment themes, making use of the proven expertise of fund houses. However promising new investment funds are presented, many do not survive the test of time. 

When investing in unlisted real estate, funds that focus on a single country or on a separate sector within a country outperform funds that diversify across countries and/or sectors, according to a Cambridge University study. By contrast, real estate funds that focus purely on one sector do not outperform diversified funds. This research was named the best of 2021 by industry body Inrev.

Assets in Luxembourg-domiciled UCIs reached their highest level since January, according to figures published by the CSSF. Total assets rose by 1.72% to reach €4.7 trillion at the end of August.

This means assets in Luxembourg-domiciled funds have risen by €547 billion, or roughly 13%, since the end of March when they hit a multi-year low. Assets of US and global equity funds rose most in August, while assets in all bond funds except high-yield bond funds declined.

Despite the Grand Duchy’s status as Europe’s largest investment fund centre, Luxembourgers hold almost four times more money in bank deposits than in funds.

Figures published by the supervisory Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier show that Luxembourg-registered investment funds were managing approximately 4,670 bn euro in November 2019. 

Ever since 1998, Luxembourg has been gaining influence and volume as a hub for investment funds, showing next to no downturn in the process. In 1998, the total amount of capital managed by Luxembourg investment funds was approximately 500 bn euro.