Sector

Urban Angehrn, the former chief executive of the Swiss financial regulator, FINMA, recently stepped down, citing the toll on his health from “permanent stress levels,” months after orchestrating the rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS. However, it is not only people in high-profile jobs who experience burnout.

A few years ago, a younger version of myself also experienced burnout.

Panel discussions at Alfi’s Global Distribution Conference on Wednesday exposed differing viewpoints on the definition of a retail investor, casting a shadow over prospects for success for the next generation of European Long-Term Investment Funds, or Eltifs.

Monex Europe S.A., a commercial foreign exchange specialist, has relocated to a larger office in downtown Luxembourg to accommodate its growth and future expansion plans and ambitions to expand its services in private equity and investment funds.

The European Commission is considering a revamp of the way sustainable investment products are classified and is about to launch a three-month consultation soon. The current system, governed by the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), categorizes these products under Article 8 and Article 9, but this could be subject to change.

In a significant blow to the push for gender equality within the asset management sector, Citywire’s Alpha Female Report for 2023 shows almost no progress in the representation of female fund managers over the past year. 

Verena Ross, the chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, Esma, has laid out a robust European framework for improving financial markets, boosting trust and transparency. But in a speech in Germany on Monday, she also identified the industry’s sluggish response to digitalisation and “greenwashing” as barriers to progress.

In Luxembourg as in the wider world of finance, the marvels of artificial intelligence are being celebrated, but there’s a growing focus on the potential downsides. The risk of fraudulent behaviour and manipulation in financial markets is looming large, and both local and international cybersecurity experts are warning that today’s hackers may enhance their abilities through AI. This advancement is happening while numerous organisations are neglecting basic cybersecurity measures.

Monex Europe S.A., a Luxembourg-based specialist in commercial foreign exchange, announced the appointment of Percy Golergant as executive director for Luxembourg. He will work alongside Carlo Biondi, who has held the role of executive director since March 2021.

Golergant and Biondi will co-direct the Luxembourg office’s operations. This includes streamlining its IT solutions, enhancing risk management services, and driving sales in the market.

A positive performance in global financial markets stemmed net capital outflows in Luxembourg during the month of June, leaving the grand duchy’s investment funds with a net positive balance of 35.191 billion euro at the end of the month, according to data from financial supervisor CSSF.

The increase represents the balance of negative net capital investments - or outflows - of 15.302 billion euro and of the positive development of financial markets amounting to 50.493 billion euro.

Investment managers are shifting fund investments towards Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) at the expense of traditional mutual funds. The shifts are clearly visible both in Ireland and Luxembourg, Europe’s two leading hubs for ETFs, according to insights from LSEG Lipper. BlackRock was the biggest-selling fund promoter in the first half, accounting for more than half of all European ETF inflows.