Instant payments disrupt Luxembourg ecosystem

Demand for instant payments, an area in which certain corners of Europe have lagged other parts of the globe, is, according to PwC, disrupting Luxembourg’s payments ecosystem, as well as putting strain on the existing infrastructure. At the same time, innovation in B2B payments the new frontier of payments.

These changes in payments and others are taking place against the hugely increased profitability of the Luxembourg banking market, which collectively recorded a 2021 net profit of 30.8 percent.

Invesco launches actively managed metaverse fund

Global asset manager Invesco has launched an actively managed, 30 million dollar investment fund focused on metaverse companies. The Invesco Metaverse Fund will be domiciled in Luxembourg and will be distributed to investors across Europe.

The metaverse is defined as a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. Virtual and augmented reality has the potential to add some 1.7 billion euro to the world economy and approximately 23 million jobs by 2030, according to consultancy PwC.

Most investors plan to stop investing in non-ESG funds

Two-thirds of Europe’s institutional investors plan to stop investing in non-ESG funds by the end of next year, according to fresh survey data released on Monday. Nearly 72 percent of them are willing to pay a premium for ESG products, while a similar majority of European asset managers wants to stop launching non-ESG products by 2024.

PWC: Alternatives add dynamism to ManCo market

Unregulated alternative investments continued to be dynamic and successful in Luxembourg last year thanks to the modernisation in recent years of the Grand Duchy’s regulatory regime for private markets, consultancy firm PWC Luxembourg noted when releasing the latest version of its Observatory for Management Companies.

In Flux: Fifty shades of green

Sustainable finance poses a compliance risk you can no longer afford to ignore, no matter whether you are green or brown. Offering green investment products without actually doing so can get you into serious trouble. Asoka Woehrmann, the chief executive officer at DWS, Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, can tell you all about it. 

MiFID II to test SFDR labelling misconceptions

Failure to understand the requirements of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, known as SFDR, could expose asset managers to reporting and greenwashing risks, not least with the sustainability preferences aspects of MiFID II coming down the pike. “SFDR has been very often seen by some as a product classification and even as a product-labelling initiative, both of which are absolutely not the case,” Nathalie Dogniez, a partner with PwC Luxembourg told Investment Officer.

​​​​​​​Corporate banking revenue up 60% since 2016, survey shows

Revenue from corporate banking activities in Luxembourg has risen nearly 60 percent since 2016 to approximately 3 billion euro, according to a new study conducted by consultancy firm PWC. The consultants also found a need for the government and regulators to join the banking sector on its innovation journey in order to address regulation challenges.