Investing

As inflation has started to normalise, many market observers have started to find bond markets attractive again. Yields have risen to their highest levels in over a decade. Corporate debt has recovered, making bond investors comfortable after years of bad returns.

A recent European Central Bank study calling for a regulatory framework to address instability in the market for Real Estate Investment Funds, known as Reifs, has been downplayed by a growing number of real estate specialists contacted by Investment Officer in Luxembourg and London. 

Alternative investments strategies relying on limited bank financing appear to be well-placed to profit from the current crisis of confidence in the banking sector. And despite EU regulatory measures to deal with greenwashing, ESG products are seeing increased demand.

If there’s one thing clear from recent months, it’s that Luxembourg is placing a major bet on the future of Eltifs, or European Long Term Investment Funds. The EU’s adoption of a major upgrade of the Eltif regulation is opening the doors to private markets for high-net-worth investors and wealth management clients.

Rising interest rates and the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse have led to a paradigm shift in private equity and venture capital. Reji Vettasseri, lead portfolio manager at Swiss private finance group Decalia, believes investors now need to to be innovative with emerging strategies, carefully selecting ‘small cap’ firms to invest in instead of fleeing to the safety of larger ventures.

The traditional private equity world has realised only in the past two years that creating products specifically for wealth and retail channels is going to be a huge area of growth over the next 10 to 15 years. Europe, said Tarun Nagpal, founder of S64 Capital Innovation, will be the “next frontier” in mainstreaming private equity for retail investors.

Tensions in the banking sector increase the likelihood of a recession during the year, according to chief investment officer Guy Wagner at asset manager BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments.

Nevertheless, prior to the onset of the banking turmoil, the resilience of the global economy was still in evidence, with service activities continuing to benefit from robust household demand due to continued full employment in most countries, Wagner and his team said in their latest monthly market report.

Although there’s consensus on clouds hanging over private real estate markets while some investors here still face a rough ride, instability in the market for Real Estate Investment Funds, known as REIFs, - unlike the European Central Bank - is not seen as an immediate systemic threat to the real economy, according to real estate specialists in Luxembourg and London.

Downgraded green credentials for hundreds of investment funds and an increasingly polarised political US debate on ESG investments are shaping the current industry debate on sustainable finance. Joachim Nahem, sustainability expert and chief executive at Oslo-based Position Green, notes the emergence of a new concept that has taken over from greenwashing: green hushing. 

This week, the European Central Bank published its ‘Monetary developments in the euro area’ report. And with that, we finally got information on bank deposits in the euro area.

European deposits look a lot better on an aggregate level than in America. Unlike in the United States, where bank deposits are down 3 per cent from a year ago, Eurozone deposits are still growing. That means the risks of traditional bank runs are lower here.