Investing

Thursday’s 50 basis point rate hike by the European Central Bank came as no surprise. The ECB’s deposit rate now stands at 2.5 percent. The ECB reiterated that it intends to deliver a similar rate hike at its next meeting in March.

The ECB’s hike came one day after a 25 point increase announced by the Federal Reserve, and coincided with a 50 point raise by the Bank of England.

Private assets might have dropped significantly in value since the “good years” of 2020 and 2021, but despite a bad year in 2022, they’re still outperforming public market returns by quite a margin, explained Schroders Capital’s chief investment officer Nils Rode at his firm’s private assets 2021 outlook this week.  History shows that private assets investors could have a strong year in 2023 despite the bad overall macroeconomic conditions, he argued.

Macroeconomic pressure on Luxembourg’s real estate sector has translated into a lower volume of property sales, which is hurting the businesses of those who sell real estate properties – real estate agents. They are now screaming bloody murder. 

“The market is suffering,” said Jean-Paul Scheuren of the Luxembourg real estate chamber, speaking of the real estate market generally. “Everybody is like on hold, on hold, and also the demand is on hold.”

Eurozone interest rates will rise further in the near future as evidence grows that inflation has become entrenched, leaving the European Central Bank no option but to continue to hike its policy rates. At Ethenea, ECB watchers believe official deposit rates could more than double from current levels.

Fidelity International, via Luxembourg, is launching a new climate impact fund leveraging the need for improved performance of existing commercial real estate buildings in Europe. Investment Officer sat down with Aymeric de Sérésin, Fidelity’s director of European real estate investments.

Luxembourg’s reputation for excessive house prices is facing macroeconomic clouds looming over European and international housing markets. However, several country-specific factors will likely minimise the price drops seen in other markets, including tax measures, cheaper housing across the border, and a small development community.

Of the European assets flowing into ETFs last year, a higher proportion went to trackers with ESG labels than trackers without that sustainability feature. Sustainable fixed income ETFs were particularly popular in Europe.

Inflows into alternative investment funds in Europe rebounded in November when compared to massive outflows during October, as inflows for Ucits funds fell significantly, according to data released by the European Fund and Asset Management Association, or Efama.

New York-based Blackstone, also present in Luxembourg as a CSSF-regulated AIFM, has raised a record 22.2 billion dollars in commitments for its Strategic Partners IX fund, one of two such vehicles in its inaugural continuation fund strategy under the Strategic Partners GP Solutions label.

Data analysis of transactions of Universal Investment’s institutional clients shows that alternative investments once again proved to be supporting pillars of their portfolios, writes Sophia Harrschar, the firm’s country head Luxembourg in her latest contribution as IO knowledge partner. Private equity scored with 9.8 percent in the one-year range and with 10.3 percent per annum over five years.