Emmanuel Vanbrussel

It’s a question that concerns every asset manager: to what extent are defense and weapons stocks compatible with the sustainable principles of ESG? A joint report by the labeling organizations Forum Ethibel (Belgium) and LuxFLAG (Luxembourg) doesn’t provide a definitive answer but does outline the many dilemmas involved.

Once again, voices are rising to transfer the 195 billion euro in Russian assets frozen at Brussels-based securities depository Euroclear into a European investment vehicle. But within the Belgian camp, there’s growing concern that doing so would open Pandora’s box.

Diversification remains the cornerstone of asset allocation, investment strategists agreed at Investment Officer’s Portfolio Day, as volatility upends assumptions about safe assets.

Just two weeks ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme has sharply criticized the alliance’s proposed five-percent-of-GDP defense target, calling it a “collective irrationality” that risks overwhelming European decision-making.

Are defense investments compatible with the principles of sustainable investing? At a conference in Brussels, the answers ranged from “maybe” to a firm “no”.

A powerful combination of artificial intelligence, looming regulation and shifting market dynamics is shaking up the opaque world of ESG data providers.

Candriam is transforming its Global Metaverse Fund—originally focused on companies developing the metaverse—into a tech fund centered around AI, cybersecurity, and other trends. It marks a clear sign that the tech hype of 2022 has fully fizzled out.

The combination of artificial intelligence, impending regulation, and shifting market dynamics is shaking up the traditionally opaque sector of ESG data providers.

Degroof Petercam Asset Services (DPAS), a key service provider to Luxembourg’s fund industry, will change its name on 1 June. The rebranding follows the acquisition of Belgian financial group Degroof Petercam by the French firm Indosuez, part of Crédit Agricole.

Can private clients still trust that their bank’s advice is objective when that bank also owns a stake in the fund house behind the recommended products? The question is becoming more pressing across Europe, including Luxembourg, where private banks and fund distributors sit at the crossroads of European asset flows.