Esma faces uphill battle to emerge as European SEC
In an interview with Investment Officer, Esma chair Verena Ross outlined her vision and the significant challenges ahead as the regulatory body aims to become Europe’s equivalent to the US SEC.
Morningstar: Vanguard vs Dimensional in 60/40 funds
The classic 60/40 investment strategy is still alive and well, though its merits have been a matter of debate in recent years.
Rally in passive investing largely bypasses family offices
Buy-and-hold and active management remain the preferred investment strategies among family offices in the Benelux. More than half of their portfolios are allocated to private equity and listed equities.
De oneerlijke strijd van stablecoins
De ECB heeft stablecoins een plekje gegeven in haar Financial Stability Review. Nu mag je in een stuk met daarin de term stabiliteitsbeoordeling verwachten dat het vooral over risico’s gaat, maar dan nog blijft de insteek van de ECB opvallend. Het ongegeneerd willen voortrekken van de traditionele bankensector is meer dan veelzeggend.
Luxembourg money market fund becomes Amundi’s first DLT fund
Amundi on Thursday announced that it has launched its first tokenized share class, marking a step into blockchain-enabled fund distribution for Europe’s largest asset manager.
Arendt sells majority stake in AIS to Blackfin in $500 mln deal
Blackfin Capital Partners will become the majority shareholder of Arendt Investor Services in a deal valued at 500 million dollars that is aimed at accelerating the Luxembourg firm’s growth across Europe.
Transfers: Schroders, DNCA, Loomis Sayles, Edmond de Rothschild AM
Our weekly coverage of people moves.
The Passive Paradox: how index funds distort the market and harm investors
For decades, we have embraced the rise of passive investing (hammock investing) as the ultimate democratization of the financial markets. The gospel of low costs, broad diversification, and market returns seemed infallible. But while passive assets under management have climbed to astronomical levels, a wave of critical academic research reveals a troubling paradox: the instrument designed to help investors may be structurally distorting the market and ultimately diminishing their wealth.
Schengen’s lessons for global fund distribution
Fund passports were built on the same vision that shaped the Schengen Zone: shared trust and borderless movement. Luxembourg remains at the center of that idea.
How Brussels regulated sustainability to death
It was a master plan. The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation was supposed to send massive private capital flows into green investments, finance the Green Deal, and allow Europe to set an example for the rest of the world. Not a nonbinding directive, but an ambitious framework meant to discipline the financial sector and crush greenwashing.