Fund Interview

A year after the launch of Lightrock’s first public fund, fund managers Chris Kaashoek and Maarten Vankan say that in 2023, the adventure led them to the British private equity investor. “We were given a unique opportunity to build an asset manager from the ground up.”

According to experts, it takes a lot to bring down the global high-yield market. The high effective yields help absorb rising credit losses in a recession.

Western carmakers have weathered competition from Japanese and South Korean newcomers in the past. Yet, according to investors, not all will survive the current upheaval, as reflected by the depressed valuations of some legacy automakers.

In advance of LuxFlag’s Sustainable Investment Week (LSIW24), which will take place on October 22 and 23, CEO Isabelle Delas discusses the hot topics and challenges in sustainable investing and what’s on the labeling agency’s agenda heading into 2025.

Luxembourg has been outpaced in the development of exchange-traded funds by Ireland. However, steps have been taken to improve Luxembourg’s offer. Investment Officer has spoken with people involved in the recent launch of a new Luxembourg-domiciled Ucits-compliant collateralised loan obligation (CLO) exchange-traded fund (ETF), which benefits from two-year-old changes to Luxembourg’s securitisation law.

Small-cap stocks have long underperformed their large-cap counterparts, now trading at a discount. For those with a long-term perspective, this could represent a compelling entry point, says Scott Woods, manager of the Columbia Threadneedle Global Smaller Companies fund.

The large-scale investment cycle in data centres currently offers the best investment opportunities for AI investors, says AI fund manager Tobias Rommel.

Institutional investors are increasingly shifting thematic investing into their core asset allocation as they see a fit with long-term asset-liability management strategies, according to Karen Kharmandarian, chief investment officer Thematics Asset Management.

MFS CEO Mike Roberge and Luxembourg head Michael Derwael see actively managed funds - ETFs and mutual funds - as benefitting from a return to higher interest rates, which would take away market share from passive investments and private markets.