Asset Servicing

ABN Amro’s private banking operations are a key asset for parties considering a takeover of the bank, even though the division’s financial results are generally weaker than those of its competitors.

Wat als de sleutel tot het begrijpen van marktrendementen niet in de balansen van bedrijven ligt, maar in de portefeuilles van de mensen die ze bezitten?

The CSSF has ordered all Luxembourg-based investment fund managers to review and, if necessary, correct their sustainability risk policies and disclosures, following a Europe-wide supervisory exercise that found compliance broadly satisfactory but still in need of significant improvement. The order also applies to managers of so-called Article 6 funds, which do not claim ESG characteristics.

As I’m still reflecting on the Fund Event 2025, where it became objectively clear that Europe needs to take action and learn to look at and approach things differently, the United States just keeps steaming ahead.

Exceptional investment strategies are rare, as reflected in Morningstar’s qualitative fund ratings. Fewer than 6 percent of actively managed funds qualitatively assessed by Morningstar analysts in Europe achieve a High score on both the People and Process pillars, placing them in the highest conviction category.

Luxembourg’s private debt market has been flourishing. But products that can pose systemic risks, difficulties with valuation, and potential misunderstandings of the risks involved in the market are issues lurking in the shadows.

This week’s overview of people transfers and appointments includes updates from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, KPMG and BDO Luxembourg, and Marktlink Capital.

Van Lanschot Kempen is preparing to enter the active ETF market through a new partnership with State Street Investment Management. The Amsterdam-based boutique, known for its smallcap and euro credit strategies, will rely on State Street’s infrastructure and distribution networks to launch its first exchange-traded funds within six to nine months.

At ALFI’s private assets conference in Kirchberg, policymakers and asset managers championed private markets as vital for Europe’s growth and as a bridge for retail investors through ELTIFs. Yet speakers also warned that education gaps, transparency issues, and regulatory hurdles could constrain the sector’s ambitions.

October has a bad reputation in the markets. The biggest crashes in history – 1929, 1987, and 2008 – all took place in October. This pattern does not appear to be a coincidence but rather the result of structural factors that make this month particularly volatile.