Investment Officer Global

Utmost, a provider of insurance-based wealth solutions, has appointed Nicoletta Basso as branch manager of its Luxembourg branch. She previously served for more than 6 years at Utmost as tax and legal counsel for Italy, advising high net worth clients and business partners alongside the sales team.

Prime Minister Takaichi’s clear reflation policy is making Japan attractive to investors once more, even though the policy rate, at 0.75 percent, stands at its highest level in thirty years. The panic surrounding the unwinding of the yen carry trade, which caused global turmoil two years ago, now appears to have definitively faded into the background.

The Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) of DWS are making a significant contribution to the growth of the German asset manager. The assets under management of the firm, in which Deutsche Bank holds an 80 percent stake, increased in 2025 by 73 billion euro to the record sum of 1,085 billion euro. Two thirds of the inflow of 51 billion euro was driven by demand for the in-house Xtrackers ETFs.

Since Trump’s reelection as president of the United States, the world has been on edge. Geopolitical tensions are dominating the markets, and the role of the dollar is once again under discussion. Still, I find it difficult to translate that into the idea that this is the moment for the euro to step out of the greenback’s shadow. There are simply too many loose ends.

Listed real estate has become one of the most conspicuous laggards in global markets. After four consecutive calendar years of underperformance against the MSCI World, valuations now sit below their historical median relative to broader equities, according to Cohen & Steers. For long-term allocators, the question now is whether this reset offers a cyclical entry point or a structural repricing.

The European ETF market grew in January by a record 46.9 billion euro. In the shadow of that growth, a price war is taking place: mainstream ETFs are now being offered with an expense ratio of 0.03 percent. Will Europe soon welcome the “free” ETF, as in the US?

Investments in private markets are still characterized by limited information and imperfect transparency, particularly when compared with public assets. Asset managers increasingly see economic value in addressing that gap, turning greater transparency into a business model in its own right.

Political nervousness is rising over the potential victory of the far right in the French presidential elections of April 2027, as that could lead to less European integration. But the Investment Centre at ING Belgium currently sees no reason to adjust its investment policy.