Investing

Financial service provider Apex Group on Thursday said it has been appointed by NewVest to provide administration services for the firm’s inaugural Private Equity 50 Index Fund, also known as PE 50, which is backed up by a blockchain. 

Europe’s biggest asset manager Amundi on Tuesday said it does not believe that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the ensuing US banking crisis is an event that poses a systemic threat.

In a note to investors, Amundi’s top investment team, including Monica Defend (photo), Vincent Mortier and Matteo Germano, noted that the European banking sector “is in far better shape” than in the 2008 financial crisis. Nevertheless, they urged investors to watch out for areas of vulnerability. 

Laurent Cooreman on Monday was appointed as chief executive officer at Belair House, the real-estate focused family office unit of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, also known as BIL.

Financial markets on Monday appeared to position themselves for a slower pace of rate hikes in the US, or even a pause, amid talk that the Federal Reserve may adopt a more cautious monetary policy following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The European Central Bank this week still is expected to raise interest rates by 50 percent amid the global market turmoil caused by the collapse of SVB, which fell victim due to mismanagement of its interest rate risks. 

Powell opens the door to a 50-basis-point rate hike, interest rates shoot up and equities crash. And yet, at the time of writing, the VIX index is below 20, raising the question of whether equities are not a bit complacent.

You can probably already hear a little from my tone what my answer is going to be. Still, there is a good reason why implied volatility looks relatively low.

Inflows into global equity and bond ETFs have been declining for five months in a row, and for the first time since March 2018, money flowed out of US equity ETFs for two consecutive months.

While interest rates in the bond market are rising uninhibitedly, the stock market may be in a dead-cat bounce, or a “sucker-rally”. Some market specialists do not trust the rally and declare equities “a lost cause”. In terms of allocations, the traditional appeal of a 60-40 portfolio appears to make a comeback now that the ‘earnings yield spread’ between stocks and bonds is narrowing.

Less than a month after the European parliament adopted its updated regulation for Eltifs - the European long-term investment funds - the new framework may be showing its first cracks. The lack of liquidity remains problematic, and that makes it unsuitable for private investors. 

Some 27 new Reserved Alternative Investment Funds, or Raifs, were registered at the Luxembourg Business Register during February, according to information made public at the end of the month.

The number brings the total new Raifs registered so far this year to 48 funds. That compares to 78 new Raifs that were created during the first two months of last year.

Luxembourg now is home to a total of 2173 Raifs. During 2022, a total of 472 new Raifs were registered. That is an average of 39 per month.

The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will continue to hike their interest rates this month among broad and persistent signs of strong consumption and the “resilient nature” of economic activity, Guy Wagner, chief investment officer at BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments, said.