Asset Servicing

The cold, wet, and miserable weather does nothing to dampen Jason ‘IPO’ Lee’s spirits as he arrives at Findel after a grueling journey from Hong Kong. He has chosen Luxembourg as a launchpad for the European arm of his AI fund.

The recently enacted NPL law in Luxembourg brings critical updates to credit servicing and purchasing, writes Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra at Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg in their latest contribution as member of Investment Officer’s panel of experts.

More than half of the investment funds and ETFs sold in Europe now consist of passive investments. Over the past three years, this market share has increased from 34% to 56%. This trend is largely driven by two major US firms, BlackRock and Vanguard.

The annual Luxembourg Private Equity Association (LPEA) Insights Conference drew over 1,000 professionals to the Grand Duchy this year, underscoring the nation’s status as the largest global private markets hub outside the United States.

The American investment giant Goldman Sachs is closing its Belgian fund, Goldman Sachs (B) Invest. The last compartment will be transferred to a fund in Luxembourg through a cross-border merger.

Luxembourg and London reaffirmed their complementary roles in asset management and green finance, with leaders stressing the importance of collaboration on sustainability, digital transformation, and post-Brexit resilience.

Local currency bonds have lagged this year, but expected interest rate cuts by the Fed have investors in emerging markets hoping for better times.

While one active ETF after another enters the market, various Dutch banks have yet to add these to their offerings, and pension funds are still adopting a wait-and-see approach. The added value compared to other passive strategies has yet to be proven, particularly in the form of a track record.

With the hype around artificial intelligence and despite its high-profile failures and misuses, it’s clear the global financial sector has plenty of interest in AI, especially in hopes of finding yet another way to outsource low-complexity work. Many large financial firms have set up special departments to explore and lead the introduction of the technology in its various product offerings.

In Belgium, less than 10 percent of the 410 members of the CFA Society are women. ‘Bitterly few,’ concludes Maud Reinalter, CIO of Belfius Asset Management. When a woman applies for a fund manager position, 200 percent of the profile matches. A male candidate applies when he meets only 80 percent of the requirements.