Investment Officer Global

This week’s overview of appointments and other people news in and around Luxembourg.

Amundi’s full-year results underscore how Europe’s largest asset manager has become a formidable ETF machine. Yet behind the record passive inflows, profits still rely heavily on traditional active management and a deliberate push into higher-margin activities.

Asset manager L&G is planning to set up hybrid “crossover” funds alongside its extensive passive business. These funds will contain both public and private investments. With this in mind, the British asset manager is working with specialists such as Blackstone.

The comparison is increasingly common. Luxembourg is often described as the Singapore of Europe. It is meant as praise, and rightly so. But the comparison deserves refinement, because it cuts both ways.

Jerome Powell is stepping down as chair of the Federal Reserve. Kevin Warsh will succeed him. For investors, the big question is whether US central bank policy will really change. The short answer: yes, possibly. And the reason is AI.

Europe’s failure to complete its capital markets integration carries a measurable economic cost of around 150 billion euro per year in lost investment, according to a new report from the Citi Institute. Over a ten-year period, the drag on economic growth could amount to roughly 1.5 percent of GDP.

Almost daily, I find myself amazed at how people simply refuse to see certain things. On the street, in politics, but also in the financial markets.

Strong demand for gold from central banks and the relatively small position held by private investors in the precious metal will push the gold price higher in 2026, Carmignac expects. Even so, the asset manager has slightly reduced its allocation to gold.

Corporate bonds, particularly high yield bonds, had a strong 2025 but portfolio managers remain cautious going into 2026.