Investment Officer Luxembourg

Performance of Bridgewater Associates’ flagship Pure Alpha Fund falls short, raising speculation that the hedge fund’s founder, Ray Dalio, may come out of retirement to regain control, much to the dismay of the new CEO.

Although Dalio retired in 2022, he retained the contractual right to take back control of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, if its performance lags.

Amundi is continuing to transfer Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with exposure to U.S.-based companies from Luxembourg to Ireland. A significant part of this migration, involving €6.58 billion across two ETFs, was announced last week.

Hamburg-based private bank M. M. Warburg & Co has announced the launch of its first real estate debt fund, WB Urban Real Estate Finance I, a Luxembourg-registered reserved alternative investment fund, or Raif, for institutional investors. The fund targets raising some 300 million euro, with initial seed financing of 86 million.

Upcoming legislation bringing challenges to the fund distribution industry – notably adding reporting requirements and increasing costs – will be a key focus on Wednesday’s Global Distribution Conference of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, known as Alfi. “Distribution is still the key to the success of the asset management industry,” said Steven Libby, a partner and Emea AWM leader at PwC and an Alfi board member, who will serve as Master of Ceremony at Wednesday’s event.

I am intrigued and—admittedly—surprised by the robustness of American consumer spending. I understand that wage growth has been substantial, but inflation has risen even more. While nearly everyone in the U.S. has a job (or two or three), it hardly offsets the increased financial burdens.

“We are a recognizable and accessible face for our clients. We are not product pushers but focus on concrete goals,” said Stefaan Vanden Berghe, CEO of Truncus. 

For several years, Truncus has been featured on Chambers & Partners’ list of top wealth managers, a prestigious ranking annually compiled based on the opinions of lawyers and tax consultants. Truncus is the only Belgian firm in this category.

The European Commission is considering a revamp of the way sustainable investment products are classified and is about to launch a three-month consultation soon. The current system, governed by the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), categorizes these products under Article 8 and Article 9, but this could be subject to change.