The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) announces that assets under management of Luxembourg domiciled funds reached euros 3,006.76 billion at the end of September 2014. This represents a 14.97% increase since the beginning of this year and is mainly due to net sales.
Marc Saluzzi, Chairman of ALFI, explains: “Assets under management have steadily increased since September 2013, and whilst with volatile markets assets under management actually may drop, it is encouraging both that investors have confidence in investment funds generally and that fund promoters continue to choose Luxembourg as a domicile.
He continues: “Luxembourg remains the most prominent international fund distribution platform in the world, with some 100 new fund promoters from all over the world choosing Luxembourg every year to domicile their funds and distribute them from here to more than 70 countries.”
Luxembourg has been the largest investment fund centre in Europe and the second largest in the world since 2005, serving as a domicile for 3900 funds.
Explaining the success of Luxembourg as a domicile for cross-border funds, Mr Saluzzi says: “A number of elements have contributed to this:
“First, Luxembourg’s focus has always been on the cross-border distribution of funds, which means that it has developed an expertise in the international, cross-border fund business which does not exist elsewhere. Today, regulators, investors and fund managers around the world therefore know and recognise a Luxembourg fund as a high quality product. The high-level promotion programme that ALFI has run since 2005 has built this reputation and ensures that it is maintained.
“Second, we have a large array of investment vehicles and legal structures to suit investors and fund promoters from around the world. Legal structures can be adapted to each project, i.e. for retail as for institutional clients, for ‘plain vanilla’ as for alternative products. We have a knowledgeable and pragmatic regulator, who is a key player in the development of the investment fund sector.
“Last, we have a comprehensive market infrastructure, with all the elements in the investment fund value chain, from service providers to fund administrators to depositary banks, etc., available in Luxembourg. We currently see strong growth and specialisation in the areas of distribution support, riskmanagement and compliance, which constitute a further strong backbone of our fund centre for the future. We furthermore enjoy strong and continuing support from the Government to further grow this infrastructure.”
Mr Saluzzi concluded: “Whilst the increase in assets under management in Luxembourg is good news for Luxembourg, it is also good news for the UCITS brand and the European funds industry as a whole. It is a clear indication that consumers are recognising the importance of funds generally, and UCITS funds specifically, in providing for their financial future. Our objective now is to help make AIFM an equally successful global brand in the years to come.”