Asset Servicing

Financial services firms increasingly test new markets through sales-as-a-service models, relying on experienced industry connectors instead of building costly local teams. Luxembourg’s global ecosystem makes this approach particularly relevant.

The shake-out in active asset management is far from finished, even as some firms regain momentum in the battle for investor flows, according to Joseph Pinto, chief executive of M&G Investments.

The price of a barrel of crude oil surged past the $100 mark as the situation in the Middle East escalated further. A small price to pay, according to the president of the United States. Yet I suspect Trump is taking too narrow a view of the true cost of this new military intervention – if he is even considering those costs at all.

The Asian bond market continues to deepen, supported by local and international interest.

Investors in evergreen funds apparently did not fully grasp what they were getting into when they entrusted their capital to these “semi-liquid” vehicles investing in private markets. After Blue Owl, two large private credit funds managed by Blackstone and Blackrock were hit last week with a surge in redemption requests.

In a fund market that is becoming increasingly fragmented between European requirements, rising regulatory pressure, and the growth of private markets, large offshore firms can no longer ignore Luxembourg. For Mourant, historically established in Jersey, Guernsey, and the Cayman Islands, opening an office in the Grand Duchy two years ago was not merely a geographic expansion. It was a strategic repositioning.

This week’s overview of people transfers from across Europe.

Young people today are looking for a modern, balanced, purposeful, and flexible work environment, say heads of HR at Luxembourg private banks. Employers, on the other hand, are focusing on whether candidates bring transferable skills.

Finance is full of repetitive work, often done manually. Reconciliation, reporting, and various calculations to evaluate assets are part of daily life. But in recent years, the AI storm has arrived.

With euro stablecoins and a digital euro, Europe wants to counter the looming dollarization of the European economy. In consumer payments, the sovereignty of the euro is already under pressure, the European Central Bank warns.