AIFM directors concerned over greenwashing risks
Boards of AIFMs, Alternative Investment Fund Managers, in Luxembourg are “heavily concerned” over potential greenwashing, a survey conducted by PWC Luxembourg on behalf of the Luxembourg corporate governance institute ILA said.
CSSF fines Pemberton for ‘failures’ under AIFM law
Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF has levied a 22,100 euro fine against alternative investment fund manager Pemberton Asset Management SA after a 2020 inspection found “failures” in risk management, organisational requirements and supervising delegated activities under Luxembourg’s AIFM law, the regulator announced on Tuesday.
Lazard names Alexandre Schmitz to Luxembourg unit
Senior private banker Alexandre Schmitz has left Degroof Petercam Luxembourg to join the Luxembourg operation of Lazard Frères Gestion, a French asset management firm which has offered wealth management services in Luxembourg since 2021.
Schmitz will join Lazare’s Luxembourg team as “director – senior private banker”.
“Alexandre’s arrival marks our desire to strengthen our presence in the local market,” said Julien Thibault-Liger, managing director of the firm in Luxembourg.
Britta Borneff named director of communications at Alfi
Britta Borneff, a former managing director at Fuchs Asset Management, has been appointed as the new director of events, communications and business development at the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, Alfi.
Borneff’s professional career in Luxembourg started in 1996 with Schroders where she worked in marketing and client relationship roles for more than a decade. From 2007 to 2021 she worked as head of sales and marketing at Waystone in Luxembourg. From October 2021 she served at Fuchs, a Luxembourg investment firm,
Luxembourg seems immune to housing market downturn
Luxembourg’s reputation for excessive house prices is facing macroeconomic clouds looming over European and international housing markets. However, several country-specific factors will likely minimise the price drops seen in other markets, including tax measures, cheaper housing across the border, and a small development community.
Two thirds of ETF inflows target the sustainable variety
Of the European assets flowing into ETFs last year, a higher proportion went to trackers with ESG labels than trackers without that sustainability feature. Sustainable fixed income ETFs were particularly popular in Europe.
ECB: Banks lead financing of carbon-intensive activities
Banks, not investment funds, are responsible for financing the most carbon-intensive activities, the European Central Bank has concluded on the basis of experimental new indicators for sustainable finance. “The companies they finance produce relatively more emissions in their business operations to achieve a given level of revenue,” the ECB said when presenting the new indicators on Tuesday.
Nordea AM: The dawn of a sustainable real assets revolution
Our society faces a number of incontrovertible challenges. Economically, the current inflationary shock – accelerated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine– continues to threaten consumers and industry heading into the northern hemisphere winter. Environmentally, we are continually being reminded of the impact of global warming and climate change with increased frequency and severity of coastal flooding, droughts and wildfires.
New regulation offers salvation to crypto hopes
High hopes for crypto’s ability to revolutionise the financial world were dealt a harsh reality check with the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange last year. With Luxembourg having early on placed a bet on crypto, some have suggested it could suffer reputational damage. New regulation including the European Union’s MiCA regulation however may offer a way to do crypto safely, Thursday’s debate at Swissquote’s Luxembourg event heard.