Investment Officer Global

This week’s overview of appointments and transfers in Luxembourg and elsewhere in Europe.

The product classification in the revised SFDR does not allow for any ‘shades of green’. That is regrettable, because precisely such labels would make investment choices clearer for investors.

President Donald Trump’s call to cap U.S. credit card interest rates at 10 percent is weighing on bank stocks and raising broader concerns about consumer credit and confidence.

Despite a strong rally over the past year, the Brazilian equity market remains undervalued. Experts say that discount could evaporate quickly if interest rates fall.

The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Officially, the case concerns the renovation of government office buildings in Washington. No one should pretend to be naive enough to take that explanation at face value.

Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra and Marco Loria analyse fresh EU guidance on ELTIF passporting, arguing it dismantles national barriers and could unlock pan-European distribution through insurance, pension and savings wrappers.

Where China and India set the pace in emerging markets for many years, investors are increasingly broadening their focus towards emerging Europe and Latin America. At the same time, a hard pivot to ex-China funds has proved risky, particularly because of timing.

Passive investing does not exist. It is a comforting fairy tale we tell ourselves, while we all press the same buttons en masse.

A new year, a new round. Every year at the beginning of January, I once again look with amazement and confusion at the equity market outlooks from the major financial institutions. And especially at the projected returns, which are invariably clustered right around the long-term average. Because one thing you can be almost certain of is that those projections will not materialize.