Investment Officer Luxembourg

Urban Angehrn, CEO of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), is stepping down at the end of September, citing health issues linked to job-related stress. Deputy Director Birgit Rutishauser will become the interim director starting Oct. 1, according to a statement from the agency.

European fund and asset management association Efama has raised significant concerns over the proposed regulatory technical standards and implementing technical standards for the Digital Operational Resilience Act, the cybersecurity plan known as Dora, criticising the measures as excessively broad and disproportionate. Efama, whose Luxembourg member is Alfi, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry,  argues that a “one size fits all” approach will be inordinately burdensome, particularly for asset management companies. 

In May 2022, Stuart Kirk, head of responsible investment at HSBC, assured investors that they need not worry about climate risk. “Climate change is a not a financial risk we need to worry about,” he argued. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the heavy workload that sustainable regulations imposed on his department.

Verena Ross, the chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, Esma, has laid out a robust European framework for improving financial markets, boosting trust and transparency. But in a speech in Germany on Monday, she also identified the industry’s sluggish response to digitalisation and “greenwashing” as barriers to progress.

Luxembourg-based investment funds looking to invest in the UK have good news: a new Luxembourg-UK double tax treaty will take effect in 2024. The treaty grants Luxembourg corporate collective investment vehicles access to treaty benefits, either as a Ucits or through a beneficial ownership test. It also closes a tax loophole that allows Luxembourg structures to sidestep taxes on UK real estate investments.

Global financial services provider Apex Group on Monday announced the initiation of its business operations in South Korea. The move aims to offer extensive solutions to global asset management clients and solidifies the  firm’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pension funds are keen for asset managers to increase allocations to India, some advocating for a 20% allocation in their emerging markets portfolio. India’s growth trajectory could potentially eclipse China’s, given its focus on the service sector rather than manufacturing. At its European Media Forum on Friday, Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford also acknowledged burgeoning opportunities in Latin America and Indonesia, particularly due to the increasing connectivity and the unfolding global energy transition.

This week’s overview of transfers in the fund and asset management sector includes appointments at Axa Investment Managers, Allianz Global Investors, Alter Domus and Linklaters.