Investing

Luxembourg’s real estate investment sector has recovered strongly from the economic slowdowns caused by the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, according to figures released in the Association of the Luxembourg Fund industry’s (ALFI)  15th annual Luxembourg real estate investment funds survey. (Full version link below.) 

Luxembourg is by far the leading EU domicile for environmental funds, according to a new report by PwC. Assets under management in green funds in the Grand Duchy are greater than the combined totals of the next three largest domiciles for these products. This article explains why this might be so.

US politicians will have to raise the debt ceiling again on 15 December to avert the first ever default on US obligations. A so-called “default” puts at risk payment obligations such as interest on debt. Investors are getting very nervous about this. 

“The equity market is moving towards a bubble”, said Jeroen Blokland said during the annual Fondsnieuws Investment Outlook, organised by Investment Officer Luxembourg’s Dutch sister publication. High valuations and exaggerated growth expectations make the probability of corrections in 2022 very high. This statement did not meet with unanimous approval. According to Edin Mujagic, chief economist at OHV Asset Management, this is in fact the ideal environment for equities.

European financial centres are competing to benefit from rapid growth in SPAC investment vehicles on this side of the Atlantic after they came under regulatory fire in the United States. The Netherland’s Euronext leads in numbers, but Luxembourg attracts those with particular tax needs. 

One of the least invested topics of the world goals set by the United Nations is “life in the water”. With the ocean responsible for every second breath we take and more commitment from the European Commission on this SDG in the offing, things might be about to change, according to Paul Buchwitz, who manages the DWS Concept ESG Blue Economy equity fund.

When investing in unlisted real estate, funds that focus on a single country or on a separate sector within a country outperform funds that diversify across countries and/or sectors, according to a Cambridge University study. By contrast, real estate funds that focus purely on one sector do not outperform diversified funds. This research was named the best of 2021 by industry body Inrev.

It is not a question of whether the tech bubble will burst, but when, Amundi CIO Pascal Blanqué warned again. According to him, the bubble will burst as soon as interest rates rise.

Blanqué spoke about this during the outlook for 2022 that he, deputy CIO Vincent Mortier and head of research Monica Defend presented to journalists on Wednesday.

Two thirds of the UN sustainable development goals are in danger of not being achieved, warned Ben Constable-Maxwell of M&G. In some areas, great strides are indeed being made in the right direction, but in the area of hunger and poverty, the Covid pandemic has caused a setback. 

The warning that climate-related damage will be more difficult to insure is growing. A challenging time is coming for real estate investors, as their investment horizon becomes riskier.