Allocations
Q&A with Marcus Peter & Irina Stoliarova, GSK Stockman
What are the key trends currently driving growth and development within Luxembourg’s funds industry?
In 2019 Luxembourg fund industry revealed significant growth that was not slowed down in the first three quarters of 2020. As at 31 August 2020, the total assets under management (AUM) amounted to EUR4,696.762 billion compared to EUR4,617.395 billion as at 31 July 2020, showing an increase of 1.72 per cent over one month and over the last twelve months, the volume of net assets rose by 4.31 per cent.
Regardless of the fact that asset managers,
Luxembourg remains a key hub of fund distribution. However, the complexity of the European regulation has seen a rise in managers setting up more parallel funds in other jurisdictions. This is done to accommodate non-EU investors, who may struggle with the demands of the EU fund regulations.
“Something we’re seeing quite a lot of is managers setting up a fund in Cayman or Delaware for US investors, a Singapore or Hong Kong fund to cater for Asian investors and then a Luxembourg fund for the EU market,” observes Anja Grenner, Market Business Development Lead – Fund Services at TMF Group.
There are several macroeconomic factors which support further growth in the private equity, venture capital and real estate space in Luxembourg. Although events like Covid-19, the Brexit transition, US elections and the US-China trade war may damage this potential, managers can also find opportunity in the turmoil.
“There are huge amounts of capital in the markets. Unlike during the GFC, there is no shortage of debt, we’re not in a liquidity crisis. And we are still in a low interest environment – which isn’t going to change any time soon, so we’re going to see more money continue to move
By Marc-André Bechet, ALFI – Luxembourg is in a quite unique position as a global funds jurisdiction compared to other financial centres in the European Union. The country enjoys an unrivalled political and economic stability. It benefits from a triple A rating with a stable outlook, which has been re-confirmed in September by the three rating agencies Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and DBRS Morningstar. Luxembourg is one of the ten countries worldwide with a triple A rating. Debt to GDP, although on the rise as a consequence of the current crisis, will soon reach 26 per cent but remains well
By A Paris – Uncertainty remains the order of the day as the world heads into a period of slow recovery which risks being scuppered by a variety of factors including the US elections, trade tensions and the prolonged impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial services practitioners in Luxembourg, like their peers in other jurisdictions, have had to navigate this volatile environment while continuing to provide a seamless service to clients.
“The crisis has been a strong accelerator of change by spotlighting our resilience, as well as our ability to adapt. While organisations are considering how to accommodate working from home to
By Emily Fuller, Deborah Low, Ellen McGinnis and Emma Russell, Haynes and Boone – ‘Sustainability’ and ‘ESG’ have become trendy buzzwords in the finance world of late, but is the concept that wealth creation and management should be beneficial to the environment and society really that new? This article will look at the similarities and differences between ESG investment guidelines and long standing principles of investment practiced under Shariah law and discuss the implications of such restrictions for fund finance.
City law firm, McCarthy Denning, has successfully advised flypop, a UK-based start-up and low-cost long-distance airline, on attracting significant investment from the UK Government’s Future Fund (opened in May this year) and other private investors. With the effects of Covid-19 resonating around the globe, the UK economy and aviation industry will benefit greatly from closer travel links with India, the world’s sixth largest economy. This crucial funding takes flypop closer to applying to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for its Air Operator Certificate. flypop plans to launch its first scheduled flights in the second half of 2021. Passengers will travel
Gulf Capital has formally joined the United Nation’s international network of investors working together to implement sustainability principles in the global financial system. The Firm has formalised its commitment to responsible investment by becoming a Signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
PRI works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The principles were developed by the international investment community and reflect the view that ESG issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios
Eurazeo has completed the sale of all its shares in Farfetch, a Eurazeo Growth portfolio company.This disposal resulted in net proceeds of EUR90.4 million, corresponding to a multiple of 4.1x cash-on-cash and an IRR of around 38 per cent. It is the second portfolio exit for Eurazeo Growth, after PeopleDoc in 2018.
Eurazeo had been a shareholder in Farfetch, an online marketplace connecting fashion and luxury goods brands as well as multi-brand boutiques with customers in 190 countries, since May 2016. Over this period, the Group accompanied the company’s growth, particularly by helping it develop its business among luxury
The London Technology Club (LTC), which includes some of the world’s leading technology investors, has invested in Reflektion, an AI-powered personalisation platform for the retail industry. LTC invested in Reflektion’s USD13.5 million funding round alongside leading venture capitalists such as Clear Ventures, Intel Capital, Battery Ventures and Hasso Plattner Ventures.
Reflektion currently manages approximately USD18 billion of GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), over USD5.5 billion unique shopping sessions (since Jan 2018) and 300 million unique anonymous shopper profiles. The fund-raising will bolster Reflektion’s growth ambitions to move beyond only eCommerce and into grocery, and penetrate other online commerce markets such as B2B2C,
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
