Investment Officer Luxembourg

The European banking sector has witnessed a remarkable resurgence, chalking up its best performance since the 2007 financial crisis, according to a recent Deutsche Bank research report. Notably, European banks have narrowed the long-standing performance gap with their US peers.

EU-domiciled Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, are growing at twice the speed of traditional Ucits funds, demonstrating continued appetite among investors for passive and low cost investment vehicles, a deep dive by PwC Luxembourg shows. Meanwhile, Denmark has emerged as Europe’s top target market for ETF distribution.

Luxembourg needs to make a bigger effort to supervise the non-financial sector and better scrutinize real estate firms, trust companies, notaries and services firms, the world’s top body to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism said on Wednesday.  Both the Luxembourg government and financial sector supervisor CSSF issued statements underling the FATF report’s “overall good result” for Luxembourg.

Universal Investment Group on Wednesday announced the launch of a new Luxembourg joint venture Alumia. The firm will operate as Mifid regulated investment advisory firm providing clients with access to innovative investment strategies.

Paris-based asset manager Carmignac has announced a series of new appointments to bolster its Patrimoine fund, which has a substantial Luxembourg component.

Guillaume Rigeade, Eliezer Ben Zimra, Jacques Hirsch and Christophe Moulin are stepping in as co-managers of Carmignac Patrimoine, joining forces with David Older, the firm’s head of equities. This move follows the recent elevation of Rose Ouahba (photo) to the position of managing director within the firm’s senior management team.

In this IO Talks podcast interview, Peter Hughes, CEO and founder of Apex Group, and Pierre Weimerskirch, the firm’s Luxembourg head, discussed strategic ambitions in Luxembourg, highlighting the region’s increasing dominance in the global investment landscape.

Key players in the Luxembourg financial industry’s effort to prioritise green goals are simultaneously ensuring that oil & gas companies can continue to warm the planet, in some cases until late this century, according to a news investigation by the Luxembourger Wort daily and the Luxembourg Times.

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has transitioned its Luxembourg offices to a more expansive space in the Vertigo Polaris Building, demonstrating a solid commitment to its European operations in the Grand Duchy. The inauguration of the new location was marked by a special event on Wednesday, graced by the presence of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, and Blackstone’s CFO, Michael Chae.

Despite growing optimism about investment conditions, the latest Goldman Sachs Asset Management survey indicates that a majority of investors still view private equity as too expensive.