Luxembourg fund assets lifted by stock market boom, and other business-critical industry news

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Luxembourg Funds Intelligence Briefing

13th January 2020

Luxembourg’s investment fund asset total, second in the world only to the US, continues to be lifted by the year-long stock market boom since the downturn at the end of 2018. From €1.5trn in 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the industry’s net assets had risen to €4.67trn at the end of November. However, most of the increase in assets over the first 11 months of 2019 came from market growth rather than net inflows.

— Simon Gray, Editor in Chief

Asset Management

Fund assets set fresh record of €4.67trn in November

Net assets under management of Luxembourg-domiciled investment funds reached a record €4,669.7bn at the end of November, according to the CSSF. The sector has enjoyed almost a year of uninterrupted growth following the slump in global financial markets in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Best source:

Paperjam
(in French)

Fund Services

Thibaut Partsch joins Elvinger Hoss Prussen as partner

Alternative investment specialist Thibaut Partsch has joined Elvinger Hoss Prussen as a partner in the law firm’s asset management and investment funds practice. A member of the Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Partsch was previously with international law firms in Brussels, New York and the grand duchy, including 12 years with Loyens & Loeff, and is a member of the bar in both New York and Luxembourg.

Best source:

Elvinger Hoss Prussen

Aztec Group supports close of Headway Capital Partners PE fund

Fund services provider Aztec Group says it has assisted UK-based private equity fund manager Headway Capital Partners on the final close of its HIP IV fund with total commitments of €372m. Aztec helped Headway with the fund’s formation and fundraising, and will provide ongoing administration services from its Luxembourg office.

Best source:

Luxembourg Chronicle

Regulation

Paris lobby group calls for more transparency from activist funds and short-selling restrictions

Paris Europlace, the lobby group for the French capital’s financial industry, has added its voice to calls for greater transparency on the part of activist funds targeting French companies, as well as seeking restrictions on short-selling. The group recommends that funds inform the targeted company of their plans and sources of finance, and share any non-public communications with the company’s shareholders. Paris Europlace has also proposed rules for proxy advisers and securities lending.

Best source:

Les Echos
(subscription required, in French)

Technology

Fintech firm Numbrs to relocate most of Luxembourg team to Switzerland

Martin Saidler, the founder of Swiss fintech firm Numbrs Personal Finance, says it will close its subsidiary Numbrs Luxembourg, with nine of the office’s 11 employees to be transferred to its Zug office. The firm’s main product is an app that aggregates bank account and credit card information and facilitates mobile banking and personal financial planning. Numbrs blames reported problems with the app on the implementation of the EU’s revised Payment Services Directive, but has threatened to take legal action against anyone publishing false speculation about the company.

Best source:

Inside Paradeplatz
(in German)

LuxTrust to open Paris office in European expansion drive

Digital certification firm LuxTrust is to open an office in Paris in the coming months as part of its strategy to target the wider European market, according to communications director Stéphanie Godar. The firm has recently developed products involving secure digital signatures alongside its existing digital identity services.

Best source:

Paperjam
(in French)

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