ManCos

Daisy Mae faces a complex journey launching a railway investment fund in Luxembourg amidst regulatory challenges and tight deadlines.

Market consolidation, pressure on cost and the weight of regulation have reduced the total number of Management Companies in Luxembourg by four last year. The latest edition of PwC’s annual Manco Observatory nevertheless sees this industry as “very dynamic”, with 11 new Manco’s having been set up in the last year.

Boards of AIFMs, Alternative Investment Fund Managers, in Luxembourg are “heavily concerned” over potential greenwashing, a survey conducted by PWC Luxembourg on behalf of the Luxembourg corporate governance institute ILA said. 

Two Luxembourg brand names in the alternative investments business are disappearing. Fund administration firm Pandomus and independent management company Pancura have been renamed under the single new brand of Pandoo.

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.

Luxembourg’s third-party management companies (ManCos) are increasingly positioning themselves as regulatory problem solvers for all types of asset manager. This appears to be a burgeoning niche for the Luxembourg fund and asset servicing industry.