Asset Servicing

For generations of investors, the gospel was simple: invest in a balanced portfolio with 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds. This sacred formula was passed down from wealth manager to wealth manager, from father to son, as an immutable law of financial physics. But what happens when artificial intelligence scrutinizes this age-old wisdom?

This week’s overview of people transfers and appointments includes updates from Luxflag, Baker McKenzie, EFG Bank, and EuroCTP.

Investment advisors are getting better at their jobs, according to the distribution teams at asset managers who work closely with them. They’re using more data, stress-testing portfolios against historical scenarios, and educating their clients more effectively. This leads to more stable behavior among end investors.

A powerful coalition of European financial trade associations has urged the European Commission not to adopt a U.S.-style trading framework under its flagship Savings and Investments Union (SIU) initiative.

Eurosif, a pan-European association that promotes sustainable finance at the EU level, is deeply concerned about the European Commission’s proposals to ease corporate sustainability reporting requirements. “Investors will be less well-informed,” warns Aleksandra Palinska.

It’s hard to speak of a favorable investment climate when companies are leaving. While the shine may have worn off American exceptionalism, Europe’s problems remain unresolved as long as European companies continue relocating their headquarters abroad.

Once again, voices are rising to transfer the 195 billion euro in Russian assets frozen at Brussels-based securities depository Euroclear into a European investment vehicle. But within the Belgian camp, there’s growing concern that doing so would open Pandora’s box.

More than a quarter of financial institutions across Europe plan to terminate at least one ICT service provider this year due to non-compliance with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (Dora), according to a new survey by PwC Luxembourg.

Investors may believe their withholding tax (WHT) obligations are fully addressed. However, in practice, standard recovery approaches often concentrate on jurisdictions with more straightforward procedures, potentially overlooking opportunities in regions with more complex requirements.

Falling inflation and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) conviction that price increases will stabilize around two percent annually in the long run made it possible for Frankfurt to announce another rate cut earlier this month. With this move, the policy rate has now been more than halved compared to the summer of 2024. The ECB seems to be casting out the interest rate anchor and allowing itself to drift for a while.