Sector

European investment funds in real estate and alternative assets are vulnerable and could face liquidity risks in the event of a sudden investor sell-off, according to a senior official at Europe’s main financial markets supervisor, the European Securities and Markets Authority, or Esma. “It is one of the tricky issues here,” he said.

Central banks worldwide will need to face the fact that pressure on prices will remain high for the coming years and that inflation dynamics will continue to be clouded by uncertainty, Switzerland’s central bank chief has told his colleagues in Jackson Hole. The Swiss central bank also prides itself in working with a narrow mandate that is not influenced by political considerations.

You may not have noticed it while on holiday this summer, but Italy is once again in crisis. Political risks make for an uncertain economic outlook. This week, we look at the top 5 bond funds with the highest exposure to the battered Italy debt markets.

Rising interest rates and growing balance sheets have led to a rise of 20.1 percent in interest income for Luxembourg’s banks in the first quarter, according to data released by financial supervisor CSSF. The improvements however were not enough to counter a decline in non-recurring revenues, which meant overall bank sector profits fell 2.4 percent.

Luxembourg’s post-Brexit boom in financial sector relocations and foreign direct investment is over, according to an EY study on the Grand Duchy’s attractiveness that was released on Tuesday.

Although its overall market share contracted slightly, Luxembourg last year held on to its number one spot among Europe’s top 10 investment hubs for both Ucits and Alternative Investment Funds, with a market share of 26.8 percent, compared to 27 percent that was reported for the previous year, according to the latest annual reported released by the Association for the Luxembourg Fund Industry, or Alfi. Ireland’s share of the pie increased to 18.6 percent last year from 18 percent reported for 2020. 

The ECB has decided to raise interest rates for the first time in eleven years in an attempt to tackle persistent inflation. Asset purchases will also be halted from 1 July. The decision made in Amsterdam on Thursday marks the end of a long-standing period of monetary easing and negative interest rate policy.

The Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform, known as SDI AOP, offers the opportunity to standardise SDG impact measurement and develop a broad benchmark for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The platform can become a global standard for SDG investing,” said Manuela Sperandeo, Head of Sustainable Indexing for EMEA at BlackRock, in conversation with Investment Officer. 

A changing of the guard at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, known as LuxSE, and strong results increases across the board were the theme at Wednesday’s Luxembourg Stock Exchange annual press conference.

Growth in funds registered as Reserved Alternative Investment Funds (RAIFs) in Luxembourg has slowed in February and March, according to a data analysis by Investment Officer Luxembourg.