Apex

Markets for depositary and custodian banking services in Luxembourg are “heavily concentrated”, with the top ten banks holding more than three quarters of all assets, the first ever survey on depositary and custodian services in the grand duchy shows.

Luxembourg last week was buzzing with speculation and market talk. A major deal was said to be in the making that could change the international leadership tables among Alternative Investment Fund Managers, AIFMs. “Is your firm going to be bought?” 

Following regulatory approval, Apex Group has completed its acquisition of Darwin Depositary Services, an Amsterdam-based provider of depositary services to alternative investment funds, the company announced this morning. Financial details were not disclosed.

Apex Group, a global financial services company with a major presence in Luxembourg, said on Wednesday that it has closed its acquisition of Implemented Investment Solutions, or IIS, and InvestNow in New Zealand.  Financial details were not disclosed.

Following Apex Group’s entry into the New Zealand market with the recent addition of MMC, the acquisitions of IIS and InvestNow further expand Apex Group’s presence in New Zealand and Australia to over 500 employees.

European Depositary Bank, a Luxembourg-based provider of banking, depositary and custody solutions part of the Apex Group, on Monday said it has been appointed by Mikro Kapital Management S.A., a Luxembourg-based alternative lender and a leading microfinance and sustainable investor in emerging markets, for the delivery of paying agent services for the firm’s new bond issuances.

Asset services provider Apex Group has announced a collaboration with BlackRock’s eFront to provide its ESG data consulting services to investors in private markets.

Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF has found shortcomings in the application of measures to fight money laundering and terrorism finance at fund services provider Maitland Luxembourg SA and issued a fine of 266,000 euro. 

Apex Group on Monday said it has been appointed to provide corporate, administrative and trustee services to the Nasdaq-listed Luxembourg platform of Eqonex Limited, a digital assets financial services company. Eqonex recently launched an Exchange Traded Note  in bitcoin on Frankfurt’s Xetra market.

A recent European Union agreement to crack down on the “wild west” in international crypto markets is “not a threat for the Luxembourg crypto market,” according to a senior official at international fund services firm Apex Group.

Representatives of the European Council and the EU parliament have reached a political agreement on the Markets in Crypto Assets proposal, known as MiCA, which covers issuers of unbacked crypto-assets, and so-called stablecoins, as well as the trading venues and the wallets where crypto-assets are held. 

Apex Group is adding another firm to its growing string of acquisitions, announcing that it plans to take over Amsterdam-based Darwin Depositary Services, a firm that provides depositary services to alternative investment funds in Europe. Financial details were not disclosed.

As the only independent AIFMD depositary in mainland Europe, Darwin provides services to a range of international clients, including hedge funds, real estate, debt and private equity funds as well as funds investing in infrastructure and renewable energy.