Asset Owner

Martine Solovieff, Luxembourg’s top criminal prosecutor, has issued a stark warning regarding the country’s persistent struggle with financial crime investigations, citing overwhelming caseloads and staffing shortages as key obstacles.

Chinese stocks experienced an unprecedented rally in the final week of Q3. A series of unexpected stimulus measures pushed Chinese equities to their largest weekly rise in 15 years, supporting the outperformance of emerging markets compared to developed markets over the past three months.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other career news in the fund and asset management community in and outside Luxembourg includes updates from Crédit Mutuel Asset Management, the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), M&G, Schroders, Carmignac and Vistra.

The oil market is on tenterhooks as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, with much hinging on Israel’s next move in response to Iran’s recent missile attack. While oil prices have risen, the market remains surprisingly calm, despite the looming threat of supply disruptions.

The surge in US Treasury yields above the 4 percent threshold is drawing a mixed response from investors, despite the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cuts. Experts from Pictet, UBS Wealth Management, and Bank of America see an opportunity to lock in attractive yields amid market turbulence, but the bond market remains unconvinced about the Fed’s path forward.

As Luxembourg’s financial ecosystem adjusts to the open finance revolution, wealth and asset managers must navigate a range of hurdles to stay competitive.

After an initial surge following the reopening of China’s stock exchanges, investor enthusiasm quickly evaporated as hopes for detailed stimulus measures from Beijing fell short.

secondary transactions have grown significantly providing liquidity to long-term illiquid asset classes. Indeed, despite private fund-raising contraction, across the private market, secondaries fundraising almost doubled in 2023. In 2024, it is expected that the global secondary private market will reach approximately 140 billion dollars in size.

The regulations surrounding the European sustainable finance package seem to have entered somewhat calmer waters for now. Nevertheless, the topic of transition financing and transition investing remains relevant, especially as there is a need for clear frameworks and definitions.

Investment Officer, once in a while, has a conversation with investment expert Jan Longeval to discuss his views on economic and financial developments. This time, he warns about the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs.