Investissement

While interest rates in the bond market are rising uninhibitedly, the stock market may be in a dead-cat bounce, or a «sucker-rally». Some market specialists do not trust the rally and declare equities «a lost cause». In terms of allocations, the traditional appeal of a 60-40 portfolio appears to make a comeback now that the ‘earnings yield spread’ between stocks and bonds is narrowing.

La popularité des thèmes d’investissement varie grandement, mais l’eau semble une constante. En outre, l’or bleu joue un rôle central dans grand nombre de défis liés à la durabilité auxquels notre planète est confrontée. Les investisseurs semblent de plus en plus conscients de son importance ces dernières années, si bien que le thème a attiré beaucoup d’argent frais.

Less than a month after the European parliament adopted its updated regulation for Eltifs - the European long-term investment funds - the new framework may be showing its first cracks. The lack of liquidity remains problematic, and that makes it unsuitable for private investors. 

Some 27 new Reserved Alternative Investment Funds, or Raifs, were registered at the Luxembourg Business Register during February, according to information made public at the end of the month.

The number brings the total new Raifs registered so far this year to 48 funds. That compares to 78 new Raifs that were created during the first two months of last year.

Luxembourg now is home to a total of 2173 Raifs. During 2022, a total of 472 new Raifs were registered. That is an average of 39 per month.

The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will continue to hike their interest rates this month among broad and persistent signs of strong consumption and the “resilient nature” of economic activity, Guy Wagner, chief investment officer at BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments, said.

Interest in renewables is playing into the hands of alternative investment funds. Listed closed-end impact funds continue to invest in new energy projects, and investor inflows are following suit. Yet for now it is mainly the British investors who recognise the benefits.

Schroders Capital on Wednesday said it has launched its first European Long-Term Investment Fund, or Eltif. The fund is called the Schroders Capital Private Equity Eltif 2023 and is classified as a ‘green’ Article 8 under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

Schroders Capital Private Equity Eltif 2023 will focus on lower and mid-market private equity buyout and growth investments primarily in Europe but with the flexibility to allocate to non-European companies with high operating exposure to Europe, the firm said.

The market for European long term investment funds, or Eltifs, is set to triple in the coming years as high-net-worth clients increasingly look to diversify their portfolios by increasing their exposure to private markets, according to US fund manager BlackRock. “We have, I would say, aggressive plans to expand.”

Alors que les actions de croissance ont véritablement dominé pendant de nombreuses années, les fonds d’actions à dividende acquéraient petit à petit une dimension presque décorative. Les investisseurs s’étaient en effet rués en masse sur la technologie, l’e-commerce et l’Internet, des secteurs qui ont atteint des sommets en Bourse, portés notamment par la crise sanitaire, puis la largesse des banques centrales.

European Ucits and AIF investment funds experienced net outflows of 278 billion euro last year, the biggest level since the financial crisis of 2008, according to industry statistics compiled by the European Fund and Asset Management Association, Efama. In 2021 these funds managed to attract 888 billion euro in new sales.