Investment Officer Global

Luxembourg is increasingly becoming an operational necessity rather than a strategic option. From independent wealth structuring firms such as Norman K to larger private banking groups including Rothschild Martin Maurel, institutions are reinforcing their presence in the grand duchy to serve an increasingly international client base amid growing cross-border complexity and regulatory pressure.

The global economy is facing significant challenges. Geopolitical tensions are often palpable, and the sharp rise in precious metal prices suggests that fear is widespread, likely driven by a range of perceived threats.

While the wealth of affluent Germans is surging, traditional private banks are falling behind. Their dependence on interest income is increasingly clashing with a savings culture that discourages investing.

As global leaders and investors arrive in Davos this week, the central question for markets is no longer whether geopolitics matters, but how quickly political risk is being priced into assets. Donald Trump’s return to the World Economic Forum, where he is due to speak on Wednesday, comes at a moment when institutional credibility, fiscal discipline and capital concentration have become investment variables rather than background noise.

In the run-up to the Senate elections later this year, a presidential candidate has been making some rather odd moves. After briefly plucking away the president of a, at least on paper, sovereign state, and more or less annexing Greenland, again on paper, the chair of the US central bank was next in line. As a result, crucial charts that already tend to stay out of the spotlight receive even less attention. Fortunately, not here.

Anyone following geopolitical tensions, the noise around China and the ongoing turmoil coming out of Washington might expect investors to turn defensive. The opposite emerged at the CIO panel during the Investment Officer New Year’s Perspectives 2026 in Amsterdam on Thursday. Chief investment officers from ING, Van Lanschot Kempen, ABN Amro and Rabobank are not retreating, but positioning with intent. Their shared view was that the greatest risk is not geopolitics itself, but investment decisions driven by fear. That perspective ran through the discussion.

Emerging markets outperformed developed markets in 2025 for the first time since 2017, driven largely by strong AI and tech gains in South Korea. This week Morningstar compares the Robeco Emerging Stars Equities fund with the Cullen Emerging Markets High Dividend Fund.

With the subpoena of Jerome Powell, political pressure on the Federal Reserve has taken on a legal dimension. The timing is striking: Powell’s term still has months to run, yet the White House is pressing ahead now. The stakes extend well beyond the fate of the Fed chair himself.