Agefi Luxembourg - janvier 2026

Janvier 2026 15 AGEFI Luxembourg Fonds d’investissement L ong seen as a funddomicile, Luxembourg has evolved into Europe’s operational command center for value creation and is becoming the placewhere that transformation is engineered, monitored, andproven. Under AIFMDII, strengthened gover- nance expectations and the rise of sophisticatedManagedServices models, the country nowplays a central role inhowGeneral Partners (GPs) structure, track and industrialize value creation across their portfolios. In parallel, the Private Equity landscape is changing: competition is intense, val- uations are tight and Limited Partners (LPs) demand proof, not promises. The European ecosystemis changing so rap- idly that firms that only rely on leverage or market momentum are falling behind; those that build operational alpha and candemonstrate it are pulling ahead. This article opens the black box and explains why Luxembourg is uniquely positioned to shape the next evolution of value creation. Beyond leverage: the new reality of value creation Two decades ago, Private Equity returns were largely driven by debt structuring and favorable market cycles. That play- bookisdead.Sincethe2008financialcrisis, the industry has undergone a structural pivot fromfinancial engineering to oper- ational excellence. Today, over 70% of returns come from operational improve- mentsratherthanleverage.Buthereisthe truth: Manyfirmstalkaboutoperationalvalue creation,yetfewhavetheinfrastructuretodeliv- er it consistently. Luxembourg is changing that dynamic. Thecountryhasevolvedfroma“post-deal reporting location” into a central hub for portfoliomonitoring,riskoversight,digital reporting, and ESG measurement. With AIFMD II and CSSF supervision setting high governance standards, GPs are increasingly building their value creation infrastructurefromdataplatformstoover- sight functions directly inLuxembourg. The world’s largest GPs are moving be- yondfunddomiciliation;theyarebuilding the central nervous systems of their value creationmodels in the GrandDuchy. But infrastructure alone doesn’t create value. It requires a disciplined approach. The value creationplan is a discipline, not a buzzword A recent case study reveals that, across industries, the recurring drivers are the same: pricing optimization, supply chain redesign, digital enablement, and com- mercial acceleration. But one constant stands out: execution beats strategy.And execution is exactly what Luxembourg enables. Through Managed Services, portfolio data centers, automation capa- bilities, and enhanced governance func- tions,Luxembourgprovidesthestructure that allows GPs to scale value creation consistently and transparently. Behind every outperforming investment is a rigorous Value Creation Plan (VCP). But one of the PE industry’s misconcep- tions is that a VCP is a presentation built duringduediligence. In reality, it is adis- cipline that must be executed, measured, andadaptedthroughouttheholdingperi- od. Luxembourg is increasingly becom- ing the place where this discipline becomes scalable. The 3 non-negotiables of a real VCP: 1. A thesis anchored in hard value levers, not vague ambitions. 2. A 100-day plan with clear ownership, KPIs, and accountability. 3.Executionmonitoringpoweredbydata, not intuition. The core pillars of modernvalue creation Despite increasingly sophisticated methodologies,valuecreationstillrestson three fundamental pillars: efficiency, growth and capital optimization. What has changed is the level of discipline, data and governance required to deliver them consistently, and this is exactly where Luxembourg’s strengthening operational ecosystembecomes a real differentiator. a. Operational efficiency is the hidden Alpha Lean redesign, procurement transforma- tion, automation and outsourcing of non- core functions consistently deliver 300 to 500bpsofEBITDAimprovement.Butthe critical shift today is that operational effi- ciency is no longer about cutting cost, it is about creating organizational speed and scalability. Luxembourg’s expanding capabilitiesindigitalreporting,centralized datamanagementandworkflowautoma- tion nowallowGPs tomonitor efficiency initiativeswithgreaterprecision. This cre- atesasignificantadvantageasvaluelevers are not only identified, but are actually executed and tracked. b. Revenue growth is the hardest Lever, and themost underestimated Top-line growth has always been the most challenging pillar of value creation. Today, it depends heavily on advanced data capabilities: AI-driven pricing, cus- tomer segmentation, salesforce effective- ness and buy-and-build strategies sup- ported by real-time market insights. Luxembourg plays a growing role here aswell. Portfolio companies benefit from centralized data infrastructures hosted in Luxembourg, benefiting from higher- quality analytics for pricing, forecasting andcommercialstrategy,whichultimate- ly increases the reliability of revenue growth assumptions. c. Capital optimization is the bridge between operations and exit Workingcapitalimprovements,debtrefi- nancingand treasuryoptimization trans- late operational wins into real equity value. Luxembourg’s governance frame- worksandtreasurycapabilitiesallowGPs to manage liquidity, FX and financing structuresmore effectively, not just at the fund level, but increasingly across port- folio companies. They transform opera- tional wins into real equity value at exit. People, governance, and the execution gap Onetruthremainsunchanged:mostvalue creation plans fail because of execution, notbecauseofstrategy.Misalignedincen- tives, overly complex governance, weak performance monitoring kill more value than competition or pricingpressure ever will. Luxembourg’s regulatory environ- ment and governance expectations are helping shift this dynamic. Managementincentiveplanscanbestruc- tured and monitored with greater trans- parency through Luxembourg vehicles. Board governance was strengthened under AIFMD II and CSSF expectations, encouraging real oversight and not sym- bolic supervision. Clear reporting and escalationpathways, increasinglycentral- ized in Luxembourg, reduce the friction that slows downdecision-making. In short, the country provides a frame- workwhere execution cannot drift unno- ticed, and this is becoming one of Luxembourg’smostunderestimatedcon- tributionstovaluecreationacrossEurope. ESGanddigital are not optional anymore ESG and digital transformation are no longer“add-ons”butarenowfoundation- al to howvalue is created. Luxembourg’s financialecosystemisuniquelypositioned to support both, thanks to its regulatory structure, reporting standards and grow- ing specialization in sustainable finance. ESG: a shift from compliance to competitive advantage Decarbonization, supply chain trans- parency and diversity initiatives reduce risk and drive performance. Funds with strongESG integrationoutperformpeers, and Luxembourg has become a leader in structuring and monitoring ESG frame- works due to: - The Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative (LSFI); - The country’s maturity in SFDR reporting; -StrongESGoversightexpectationswith- ingovernance frameworks; This makes Luxembourg a natural loca- tion to centralize ESGdata, measurement and reporting. Digital:thedifferentiatorbetweenwinnersand losers Cloud migration, AI-based pricing and predictiveanalyticsacceleratenearlyevery operationalimprovement.Luxembourg’s role is pragmatic but powerful: a robust digital and regulatory infrastructure allows GPs to operate portfolio analytics, datalakes,digitalreportingplatformsand automation directly from Luxembourg. This accelerates digital transformation at the portfolio level and improves the relia- bility of operational KPIs. Measuring value creation is still the industry’s blind spot Isolatingoperationalimprovementsfrom market effects remains one of private equity’sgreatest challenges.Andyet, LPs expect it. Regulators expect it. Boards expect it.WithAIFMD II andCSSF over- sight accelerating transparency require- ments, Luxembourg is emerging as the location where data, governance and reporting meet, enabling PE firms to measure value creation more reliably than by purely relying on scorecards tracking EBITDA, ROIC, productivity, retention, cash conversion, KPIs, etc. This alignment of regulation, infrastruc- ture and expertise is turning Luxem- bourg into a natural home for value creation analytics. However, theory is one thing, execution isanother.SowhatdoesasuccessfulVCP look like in practice? Lessons fromreal-worldVCPs Across hundreds of case studies of VCPs, five success factors consistently emerge: 1. Clear ownershipof each initiative 2.A focused set of high-impact priorities 3. Quickwins that buildmomentumand confidence 4. Data-drivendecision-making 5. Cultural alignment between manage- ment and investors And the traps? Overestimated synergies, underinvested digital infrastructure and misaligned incentives are the most com- mon executionkillers. Luxembourg reinforces the operational discipline that makes value creation pos- sible by providing centralized data infra- structures, stricter governance frame- works, transparent incentive structures and consistentmonitoring. Fromfunddomicile to value creation engine This is the part most outsiders underesti- mate.Luxembourghasmovedfarbeyond its reputationas a funddomicile andnow plays a central role in how private equity creates value. AIFMD II forced GPs to build real moni- toring capabilities, a discipline that ulti- mately strengthens value creation out- comes. What began as a regulatory requirement has become a strategic asset: a controlled environment where opera- tionalandfinancialdisciplineispartofthe daily governance of investments. The rise of Managed Services in Luxembourg, covering portfolio report- ing,datamanagement,digitaltransforma- tion, ESG measurement, treasury opti- mization and much more, is supporting the switch of the PE operating model. What used to be fragmented across juris- dictions is now centrally coordinated through Luxembourg-based platforms. This reduces executionrisk, enhancesvis- ibility,andprovidesLPswithtransparen- cy that fewother jurisdictions candeliver. In short, Luxembourg is becoming the placewherevaluecreationbecomesmeas- urable, repeatable, and auditable. Conclusion: the future of PE belongs to the firms that treat ValueCreation as a science The Private Equity industry is evolving faster than ever. Valuations remain high, competition is intense, and LPs expect transparency, discipline and measurable impact.Inthisenvironment,intuitionand approximatelyfollowed100-dayplansare not enough. The next generation of out- performers will be those who treat value creation as a true operating system, and this is preciselywhere Luxembourg is re- definingitsrole.Withitsgovernancestan- dards, regulatory discipline, digital capabilities and rapidly expandingMan- agedServicesinfrastructure,Luxembourg has become theplacewhereGPs can turn value creation into a repeatable, data-dri- ven and auditable process. What started as a fund domicile has evolved into a Eu- ropean hubwhere operational excellence ismonitored,measured and scaled. WhetheryouareanLPdemandingsharp- er insights, aGP transforming your oper- ating model or a portfolio manager exe- cutingaVCP,thesameconclusionapplies: valuecreationisnolongeraboutwhatyou planbutabouthoweffectivelyyoudeliver it. Firms that build this execution disci- pline, supported by Luxembourg’s oper- ational ecosystem, will shape the next era of private equityperformance. AudedeROQUANCOURT, Partner,AccountingComplianceandReporting LaurentCAPOLAGHI, ManagedServicesandPrivateEquityLeader ThomasFOULON,CAIA, Manager,GlobalCompliance&Reporting(GCR) EYLuxembourg Luxembourg: The New Command Center for Private Equity Value Creation L es ventes nettes d’OPCVM (UCITS) pourraient atteindre unnouveau recordhisto- rique en 2025, selon l’Association européenne des fonds et sociétés de gestion (EFAMA). Commentant les chiffres dumois d’octo- bre 2025, Thomas Tilley, économiste senioràl’EFAMA,adéclaréque,avecdéjà plus de 700 milliards d’euros d’entrées nettes enregistrées au cours des dix pre- miersmois de l’année, l’année 2025 pour- rait établir un nouveau record enmatière de ventes nettes d’OPCVM. Les principales évolutions observées au cours du mois d’octobre peuvent être résumées comme suit. LesOPCVMet les fonds d’investissement alternatifs (AIF) ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 89milliards d’euros, en légère hausse par rapport aux 88 milliards d’euros enregis- trésenseptembre2025.LesOPCVMàeux seuls ont affiché des entrées nettes de 84 milliardsd’euros,contre78milliardsd’eu- ros le mois précédent. Les OPCVM de long terme, c’est-à-dire hors fonds moné- taires, ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 60 milliards d’euros, en baisse par rapport aux 72 milliards d’euros de septembre. Au sein de cette catégorie, les OPCVM indiciels cotés (ETF UCITS) ont attiré41milliardsd’eurosd’entréesnettes, contre 36milliards d’euros lemois précé- dent. Les fonds actions ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 12 milliards d’eu- ros, en recul par rapport aux 27 milliards d’euros observés en septembre 2025. Les fonds obligataires ont, quant à eux, enregistré des entrées nettes de 34 mil- liards d’euros, contre 29 milliards d’euros en septembre. Les fonds diversifiés ont attiré 9milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes, un niveau légèrement inférieur à celui dumois précédent. Les fonds monétaires UCITS ont connu unefortehaussedesfluxentrants,avec23 milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes en octobre, contre seulement 7 milliards d’eurosenseptembre2025.Lesfondsd’in- vestissementalternatifsontpourleurpart enregistrédesentréesnettesde5milliards d’euros, en baisse par rapport aux 9 mil- liardsd’eurosdumoisprécédent.Autotal, les actifsnets cumulésdesOPCVMet des AIFontprogresséde2,2%pouratteindre 25 100milliards d’euros. Source : EFAMA Record des ventes nettes d’OPCVM en 2025 ©Freepik