Emmanuel Gutton

At this week’s Alfi European Asset Management Conference in Luxembourg, Emmanuel Gutton, Alfi’s director of legal and tax, spoke to Investment Officer’s Raymond Frenken for this edition of IO Talks Luxembourg. The topic: European Long Term Investment Funds, a new type of investment fund known as Eltifs that opens the door to private equity and alternatives to a wider group of investors, in particular wealth management clients and the “retail plus” segment. Luxembourg is keen to become a European ánd global hub for these funds.

Mobilising long term private sector funding for ambitions such as the green industrial revolution is the stuff of policy makers’ dreams. Retail investors too want options which will give solid long-term returns. The ELTIF was the EU’s effort to give retail investors access to alternative funds, but it has failed to take off. Institutions need to drive reform and uptake.