Investment Officer Luxembourg

When investors buy a company’s share, conventionally, they hope for the stock value to climb and maybe pay dividends. But there’s another way to make money on your shares – lend them to other investors to use for their own purposes, for a fee. This hasn’t been previously possible for most investors in Luxembourg. With help of a fintech, one bank has committed to make it happen.

Sweden-based Carnegie Fonder, an independent asset management stalwart, has ushered in Universal Investment Group as the new management company for its Luxembourg-based Ucits Sicav fund range. The announcement marks a significant phase in the operations of Carnegie Fonder, a venerable entity within the Carnegie Group with a history spanning over two centuries.

At the Trends Investment Summit, investment experts from major Belgian banks discussed asset management and allocations, cautioning against undue optimism amid a robust US economy, inflation risks, and shifting investment strategies for 2024.

“In general, one ought to be cautious of undue optimism,” remarked Philippe Gijsels, Chief Investment Officer at BNP Paribas Fortis, addressing attendees on the economic and financial market landscape.

Better ESG scores of listed companies do not necessarily lead to higher equity returns. Contrary to the claims of numerous asset managers, this link cannot be scientifically proven, according to researchers from Erasmus University and Boston University.

In a world inundated with political polarisation and partisan scepticism, it’s easy to get lost in the noise surrounding climate change, green-washing, over-regulation and what some may dismiss as mere ‘wokeness.’ Yet, amidst this tumultuous backdrop, a quiet revolution has been taking place within the investment industry. 

Over the past decade, responsible investment funds have emerged as a steady force, defying all the sceptics, and maintaining market share while experiencing a surge in assets. 

Luxembourg’s private equity services business of Partners Group, which accounts for more than a third of its revenue, held up well last year in what otherwise was a challenging year for the Swiss-based firm.

Partners Group on Tuesday reported that its revenue from management services in Luxembourg rose 2.3 percent last year to 684.5 million Swiss francs (710 million euro).

On 19 January 2024, the Council of the European Union published the final compromise containing amendments to Directive 2009/138/EC (Solvency II). The text contains details of the modified “Long-term equity investments” (LTE) sub-model (with a favourable 22% capital charge) and a specific treatment for Eltifs and other “low risk” AIFs. This contribution sheds some light on the implications of these amendments for insurers in the fund context.

Approvals of new European Long-Term Investment Funds in Luxembourg are proceeding smoothly, despite the relays with the adoption of regulatory standards for the second generation of these funds, the CSSF’s supervisor in charge of investment funds, Marco Zwick, told the Alfi conference on Tuesday.