Sector

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Pictet, Crestbridge and PwC Luxembourg. 

Luxembourg’s lawmakers are making strides in proposals aimed at alleviating the tax burden on actively managed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), aligning their fiscal treatment with that of standard passive ETFs, a senior industry voice made clear on Tuesday.

Luxembourg’s financial sector grapples with a stark wake-up call as concerns mount over its nonchalant stance towards impending cyber regulations outlined in the Dora Act; a prominent politician’s apprehensions highlight critical questions surrounding banks’ preparedness and the looming specter of potential sanctions.

In comparison to some other European countries, including Luxembourg and Germany, investors in the Netherlands appear hesitant to embrace the new generation of Eltif funds at the moment. Questions to private banks and wealth managers in the Netherlands reveal a restrained level of enthusiasm.

Investors have been liquidating billions of euros in assets in European real estate funds for a year now. German investors in particular have been remarkably active in selling their property positions.

EU-level regulation adopted this week by the European Parliament places ESG rating providers under direct supervision by the European Securities and Markets Authority, Esma, a move that provides investors with more transparency.

Imagine a groundbreaking European savings and investment product, open to all 450 million individuals across the European Union, supported by a harmonised tax incentive endorsed by every EU member state. Wishful thinking? Probably so, but maybe not.

This week’s Luxembourg overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Vistra, the Luxembourg Capital Markets Association, Intesa Sanpaolo Servitia and Kaufhold & Reveillaud.

Interest in investing in private markets, private credit in particular, may have surged, but that growth is just the beginning. “We see a structural shift towards private credit,” says Joan Solotar, global head of Private Wealth Solutions at Blackstone.

On 19 December 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority, Esma, published its final report on the draft regulatory technical standards (Eltif 2.0 RTS) under Regulation 2023/606 (Eltif 2.0). Since Esma published its Consultation Paper, these have been the core focus of the discussion. This contribution sheds some light on the proposed “matchmaking mechanism” and offers some insights as to its impact on (closed-ended) Eltifs, if adopted in current form.