Brèves économiques MLQE, le management durable En plus de dresser le bilan de l’année écoulée, l’Assemblée Générale du MLQE, qui se tiendra cette année le 17 mai prochain, sera l’occasion de décerner le Prix Luxembourgeois de la Qualité et de l’Excellence. Ce concours permet aux participants de mesurer leur niveau d’excellence, grâce à une évaluation externe, neutre et objective par des professionnels du monde de la qualité, selon son secrétaire général Roger Ianizzi. Parallèlement, cette soirée présentera la quinzième édition du Guide Luxembourgeois pour la Qualité et l’Excellence, qui s‘intitulera cette année «Objectif Excellence: vers un nouveau paradigme?» Source:mlqe.lu ________________________________________ Movinga: baromètre européen des villes de l’après Brexit Movinga, une plateforme consacrée au déménagement en ligne en Europe, a classé les villes européennes les plus à même d’apporter une alternative à Londres. Ce baromètre européen classe les villes réunissant les conditions les plus avantageuses pour les professionnels de la finance. Les critères retenus dans ce baromètre sont le cadre d’affaires, les dépenses de base, la vie courante et la localisation par rapport à Londres. Le Luxembourg se positionne au quatrième rang dans le classement global derrière Dublin, Amsterdam et La Valette. Source: gouvernement.lu Technology, technology! Major consequences for the asset management community globally FinTech – whether it is robo-advisors or Blockchain – is going to have major consequences for the asset management community globally. Panellists recognized such technologies will have a positive impact in bringing about operational efficiencies to the funds’ industry, but also by enabling managers to attract younger, more technologically astute investors. “Robo-advice is evolving and addressing the issue around a lack of advice in parts of the market. Younger, tech savvy investors are enthusiastic adopters of robo-advice. We have seen young people in China increasingly buy funds through WeChat”, said Dolan. A report by Citi highlighted that robo-advisers – despite managing zero assets in 2012 – had grown to $14 billion by 2014, and the bank expected this to reach $5 trillion in a decade. However, there is still a strong belief that maintaining a human overlay in the fund selection process is critical. “I recognise that robo-advice is very important but it is also important to have human interaction once an investor has gone through the automated set-piece. There is a difference between actually making an investment and going through the questionnaire process”, commented Jeremy Soutter, global head of product development and management at Standard Life Investments. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning also featured heavily, and there is obvious concern among stakeholders about what this technology means for back and middle office processes and jobs. The last eight years has seen amajor increase in operational, legal and compliance roles at financial institutions, but it is precisely these professions that are vulnerable to AI. “One of the most crucial things the industry needs to do is to focus on human jobs at risk from AI, and identify ways in which we can incorporate them into the industry still”, said Voss. Active vs Passive What do clients want from their asset managers? Active managers are facing some chastening times. Passive funds are winning market share as investors seek low cost returns. “Liquidity has been pumped into the markets by Central Banks and this has led to asset values being overinflated leading to disconnect between valuations and fundamentals. This is putting active managers in a tricky space as the normal rules of investing no longer apply”, said Rajan. The surging equity rally – amplified by expected increased infrastructure spending and a focused growth agenda in the US – has also assisted passive products, but markets are cyclical and active managers should not be disregarded. “The world is cyclical. In 1978, people predicted the death of equities yet beginning in <strong>198</strong>1 marked the longest equity bull market recorded”, added Rajan. As such, many acknowledge the key to successful return generation is to create balanced portfolios comprising active, passive and alternatives. To conclude... Flexibility is key to the long-term success The Luxembourg funds industry recognises clients are changing the way they allocate, whether that is through new technology, or amore principled approach to investing. The industry is now tailoring to these needs, and progress is beginning to be made. This is all occurring against a backdrop of regulation and geopolitical change, which the asset management industry is approaching pragmatically and intelligently. Communiqué par l’ALFI
IMPACT INVESTING CONFERENCE Addressing climate change and social development Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg 26 April 2017 in association with
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