Asset Servicing

In a move to strengthen valuation practices across the investment fund industry, Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF on Wednesday unveiled a glimpse of plans to revise its valuation guidelines for investment fund managers. The update is due in 2025.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other career news in the international fund and asset management community includes updates from M&G, BDO, Governance.com, the Luxembourg School of Business and the Luxembourg Competition Association.

Luxembourg’s financial regulator has issued a relatively small fine for a class of transgression with huge implications for the industry: valuations of funds, in particular for unlisted alternative investments.

Luxembourg’s financial watchdog, the CSSF, has made important changes to its rules for valuations of investment funds, the first in two decades. While many things stay the same, some key updates—like lowering limits for money market funds and adding new checks before making investment decisions—are aimed at tightening control and providing clearer guidance.

Many investors mistakenly conclude that China and the United States are completely different due to their distinct financial (and societal) systems. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Both nations’ faltering economic engines are kept running by the same remedy: debt.

Former Portuguese finance minister and Morgan Stanley banker Maria Luís Albuquerque, known for her austerity-heavy tenure during the eurozone crisis, is now the European Commission’s nominee for the influential role of Commissioner for Financial Services. Her appointment has already ignited controversy.

Pharmaceutical companies were once known for their strong growth potential, but slowing revenue growth, lower valuations, and higher dividend yields have given them a more mixed profile in recent years. However, over the past three years, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have stood out by reclaiming their growth status.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other career news in the fund and asset management community in and around Luxembourg includes updates from Alfi, Marsh McLennan, EY Luxembourg and Amundi.

Gregory Kennedy reflects on cross-border commuting in Luxembourg, where once attractive border towns now face eroding quality of life.

JP Morgan and State Street have reinforced their dominance in Luxembourg’s fund industry, according to the latest Monterey Insights Luxembourg Fund Report 2024.