Asset Owner

It has been an eventful year so far for emerging market debt. Investors have enjoyed strong returns in US dollars, with the JPM GBI-EM Global Diversified index gaining 11.4 percent through July. India’s weighting in the benchmark has increased, but not all fund managers are equally enthusiastic about the country’s prospects.

The fee structure of an investment fund is more than a contract: it is a barometer of trust between fund manager and investor. Nothing frustrates a client more than paying a performance fee in a year with a negative total return, even if the manager has outperformed the benchmark.

Robinhood, the Silicon Valley-based brokerage known for disrupting Wall Street with zero-commission trading and meme-stock mania, is making a bold play for Europe. Its strategy? Rewire equity markets using blockchain.

Against a wave of skepticism, Schroders is one of the few large firms openly championing continuation funds. Nils Rode, chief investment officer at Schroders Capital, argues the criticism is overblown. The funds, he says, typically offer about 25 percent faster liquidity, more predictable returns, and fees that are roughly half those of traditional buyouts.

ABN Amro is set to personalize wealth management for private banking clients. Starting in October, clients with managed portfolios will allocate 10 percent of their portfolio to at least three self-selected themes. To achieve this, the bank invests in structured products, ensuring that a client cannot lose more than 5 percent of their investment per theme.

Lovely vacation or not, some things never change. Like the seemingly endless task of filling lunch boxes for school kids. But also, France’s political instability never ends. The simple reason is that the underlying problem—its budget mess—can no longer be cleaned up.

Wie instapte na de aankondiging van de Amerikaanse importheffingen (2 april), behaalde bijna 30 procent. Hoe moet het nu verder en waar te beleggen?

Amundi COO Guillaume Lesage, in an interview, reveals how Alto is trying to break Aladdin’s spell, offering a European SaaS alternative in portfolio management tech.

Far fewer deals, much less fresh capital: private equity managers have had a particularly hard time in recent months. A shake-out seems likely, specialists believe. The sector has run into its limits.

This week’s international overview of people transfers and appointments includes updates from Partners Group, PWC Luxembourg and the Bankers Investment Trust.