Investment Officer Luxembourg

Raifs have been one of the most successful investment vehicles for Luxembourg. Part of their appeal has been their utility in launching sub-funds to form an umbrella structure. This has led, according to data analysis by Investment Officer Luxembourg, to it becoming very popular to launch sub-funds under existing Raifs.

As the U.S. presidential election nears, the markets are bracing for heightened volatility, particularly within the S&P 500, signaling the first significant movement in the Volatility Index (VIX) in several months. Investors are turning their gaze toward the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index futures, anticipating notable fluctuations in the S&P 500 as election day approaches.

Sofia Harrschar, head of alternative investments & structuring at Universal Investment, delves into the shift towards alternative investments among institutional investors.

Luxembourg’s Commissariat aux Assurances (CAA) slapped Lombard International Assurance with a record 1.68 million euro fine for lapses in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) controls. This enforcement action underscores the regulator’s stringent stance on compliance in the financial sector.

The roller coaster ride of the private markets hit a notable dip in 2023, per McKinsey & Company’s annual deep dive. Last year, the industry saw a global fundraising decrease of 22 percent to a little over one trillion dollars, marking the lowest point since 2017. This downturn reflects broader economic pressures, from rising financing costs to market uncertainty, but there’s more to the story.

Growth has turned into our modern-day holy grail—a beacon that politicians, companies, and individuals relentlessly chase, often with promises and aspirations that border on the fantastical. Every election cycle, candidates tout it as their deliverable. Businesses chase perpetually climbing profits, and personal discontent brews if our earnings stagnate or our living spaces don’t expand. Yet, ironically, the signs increasingly suggest that, deep down, we might not truly crave this endless expansion.

We embark on the second quarter with the launch of a revised feature: the Morningstar Fund Radar. In this weekly column, succeeding the previous Top 5 analysis, Morningstar’s fund analysts examine the state of affairs within a particular asset class, then delve into one or several mutual funds, with the primary selection criterion being the Morningstar Medalist Rating. As customary, we commence the new quarter with an overview of global equity funds.