Investment Officer Luxembourg

​​​​​​​Ambitions to build on Luxembourg’s global hub status for investment funds to make this country a global fund distribution centre are being held back by differing national approaches on regulations as well as prudential rules, despite efforts to harmonise European legislation and the EU’s cross-border fund framework. 

Marking its first anniversary in Luxembourg, Warsaw-headquartered depositary services firm Q Securities on Wednesday said that it is aiming for 30 alternative funds as clients by this end of the year and 50 funds next year, up from the 20 it has onboarded in its first 12 months in the grand duchy.

When it comes to sustainability, all actors, including the finance sector, need to develop a suitable level of understanding before policies and investment strategies can translate into impact, explains Nicoletta Centofanti, head of the Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative, in an interview.

“Europe does not use its single market enough as a political lever and militarily the continent does not amount to much. Our democracy and free market will be besieged on all sides. Meanwhile, the West’s willingness to protect our way of life is extremely limited. If we do nothing, we will remain a weakling in ‘the big game’.”  

Global insurers are diversifying their portfolios and most of them - 87 percent - plan to increase allocations to private investments over the next two years, which would represent a three percent average increase versus their current allocation, Blackrock’s latest global insurance survey shows.  

Pictet Asset Services, the asset servicing business line of the Switzerland-based Pictet Group, has launched a new platform where its clients and asset managers can monitor ESG risk exposures.

The platform enables external asset managers and institutional clients to monitor their portfolios’ ESG risks with a detailed environmental, social and governance risk analysis as well as carbon and physical risk analysis.

“Capital markets are in complete disarray and we are detecting structural changes,” said Ewout van Schaick, head of multi assets at NN Investment Partners, talking to InvestmentOfficer.nl in a podcast interview. 

Young investors are seen as a bit of a wild card by the investment industry. But look closely and it’s obvious that many young investors are fundamentally cautious due to their financial circumstances, while sympathising to a greater or lesser extent with rebellious social media elements intent on taking the financial industry down a notch or two.

The world economy is slowing down at a faster pace than expected as a result of the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, said on Monday. Further interest rate increases are needed in most major economies to halt inflation, it said.