Investment Officer Luxembourg

The US government wants to push a law through Congress that will make it more difficult for pension funds and fiduciary managers to allocate assets to ESG-driven funds or investments. The plan has sparked the ire of the asset management sector.

The CSSF is urging all financial sector workers to again work from home wherever possible. The new guidance comes after the Luxembourg government announced new restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19 on Friday.

‘We are facing an unprecedented upsurge in coronavirus infections whose consequences cannot be measured at this stage’, the CSSF said in a press release. ‘The government indicated that the situation gives cause for concern during its press conference.’

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) are guiding the investment process of an increasing number of strategies and funds. But Covid-19 has negatively impacted most of the SDGs.

According to a recent study by M&G, Covid-19 has significantly slowed global progress towards the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDSs), five years after their launch.

The total volume of negative-yielding bonds is fast approaching the record set in early 2019. This will be a determining factor for the markets in the coming months.

The rise in negative-yielding bonds receives little attention these days as investors focus on Brexit and the US presidential elections, as the US presidential elections are likely to be decided in court. This is due to the fact that Trump will contest the result if he loses. So we’re up for a challenging couple of weeks.

There are less than five months to the first sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR) deadline, and the next is just eight months away. Stéphane Badey, a partner with Arendt & Medernach speaking at the recent LuxFlag Sustainable Investment Week on 14 October, highlighted some of the key concepts.

European credit markets have hardly responded to the reports about the second coronavirus wave gripping the continent. This does not mean investors are complacent, according to Richard Ford, head of corporate bonds at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Credit markets have been in waiting mode for a while, and have good reasons for it.

Many technology companies have risen to dominance in a relatively short space of time, with legislators struggling to keep up the speed. Large investors should do their bit by constantly reminding these companies of their responsibilities, say Jon Guinness (photo) and Sumant Wahi, managers of Fidelity International’s Global Communication Fund.

The pair spoke out on this digital ethics in the margin of the annual (now virtual) Sustainable Investment Week of sustainability label Luxflag.