Investment Officer Luxembourg

The conversations around the family dinner table during the market turmoil caused by Trump’s tariffs were likely very different in the US and the EU.

Luxembourg-based asset manager Shelter Investment Management (Shelter IM) is celebrating its tenth anniversary. At the helm are two Belgians: Chairman of the Board Benedict Peeters and CEO Tim Vanvaerenbergh.

The markets crashed this week, so it’s only a matter of time before juicy headlines start popping up on (social) media eager to pour fuel on the fire. But I have to admit, I didn’t quite see this one from Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf coming: “Pension funds tremble amid stock market turmoil.”

For many asset owners with balanced portfolios, U.S. Treasuries have long provided protection against equity downturns. But a sharp rise in bond market volatility suggests that assumption may no longer hold.

According to experts, it takes a lot to bring down the global high-yield market. The high effective yields help absorb rising credit losses in a recession.

High US import tariffs are meant to help reduce the budget deficits of the United States. “Whoever the next two or three presidents may be, they will face exactly the same problem: the country must find a way to reduce its deficits. Because they are unsustainable.”

Following Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day,” investors are grappling with a fundamental question: Is a trading order possible that is less dependent on the United States? Or are we on the brink of a new Great Depression, as some doomsayers suggest?