Technology

Luxembourg has proposed a groundbreaking law enabling the use of blockchain technology in investment funds, aiming to solidify its position as a global financial leader.

Tokenisation is the next step for the asset management industry. So says not only Larry Fink, Blackrock’s CEO, but also Jeroen van Oerle, manager of Lombard Odier’s fintech strategy. He sees the potential impact mainly in private markets.

A thriving fund industry rests on the foundation of a robust regulatory framework, assuring investors that their assets will be safeguarded against misappropriation. Nevertheless, the pursuit of greater protection often accompanies higher fees, prompting investors to scrutinise regulatory requirements for tangible and effective outcomes.

Will fund managers soon be retiring as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prevalent and consistently outperforms the market? Or is this notion exaggerated? Investment Officer spoke to Thomas Dierckx, a financial machine learning expert at Kairon Labs.

Is the US Spot Bitcoin ETF Hype Overblown? The SEC’s rejection of spot bitcoin ETFs faces legal challenges, raising questions about their potential impact.

Investment firms are struggling with AML/KYC requirements, with one fund manager saying his AML/KYC team can’t grow fast enough. The push towards ‘retailisation’ of private markets is only going to increase the stress.

The European Securities and Markets Authority, or Esma, on Thursday announced that from 2025, cyber risk and digital resilience in Europe’s securities sector will take precedence alongside ESG reporting in terms of overarching priorities for the supervisors in EU member states.

The typical reasons that prompt asset managers to acquire new software often include recommendations from regulators following an onsite visit or the realisation that their current resources cannot efficiently handle projected workloads. These decisions are predominantly reactive, seldom proactive, writes Gregory Kennedy in his latest column for Investment Officer Luxembourg.

The future of supervisory reporting by investment funds - Luxembourg is home to some 14,000 of them - is embedded into a firm’s technology infrastructure.

One example of this development is taking shape in Luxembourg, where a local data firm that was acquired by a London-based fund data specialist last year is building a one-stop solution that lets fund managers track the distribution of their funds in multiple countries and report to the relevant supervisors by pressing a single button. 

It was 2020, and there were countless stories of young investors becoming millionaires overnight by investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. I didn’t want to miss out, so I decided to invest a modest amount of 2500 euros.

Curiosity

The possibility of becoming a millionaire was enticing, but I also saw this as a way to educate myself about a ‘new’ concept called blockchain. This technology was the foundation of cryptocurrencies and was set to transform countless industries.