Agefi Luxembourg - décembre 2025

AGEFI Luxembourg 26 Décembre 2025 Fonds d’investissement Infrastructure Investing at a Crossroads I nfrastructure is undergoing a profound transformation, res- hapedby technological pro- gress andpolicy shifts.Asset managers are channeling capital into emerging sectors such as energy transition, digital assets, and security – areasmarkedby rapid innovation and stringent re- gulation. These dynamics intro- duce greater complexity and longer development cycles, making it im- perative to balance strategic vision withdisciplined execution to deli- ver sustainable value. “Stronginfrastructuredrivesgrowth,jobs,and sustainability.Withoutit,economiesriskfalling behind. Those who pair investment excellence withoperationalagilitywillleadthenexteraof infrastructure”, as noted by Zeeshan Ahmed, Infrastructure Leader at EYLuxembourg. Operational challenges for assetmanagers Infrastructure fund managers face growing operational complexity. Mod- ern ecosystems span feeder funds, flag- ship vehicles, co-investment structures, and separately managed accounts, which are often linked to holding com- panies, securitization vehicles, property companies and other special purpose vehicles across multiple jurisdictions. Managing this through fragmented providers creates inefficiencies, opera- tional risks, and quality gaps. Operational risk rarely makes head- lines…untilitdisruptsperformance.Data errors, compliance gaps, and missed deadlines often stem from the same source: fragmented systems andmanual processes. Every handoff adds risk. Each manual transfer creates vulnerabilityand every reconciliation between discon- nected platforms drains time that senior finance and operations teams should de- vote to strategic priorities. Modern operating models increasingly rely on integrated fund administration and managed services. These models spantheentirefundlifecycle,fromlaunch toliquidation,coveringessentialfunctions such as cash flow management, valua- tion, tax, accounting, corporate gover- nance,andcompliance.Theyalsoinclude investor-relatedprocesseslikeKnowYour Customer and Anti-Money Laundering checks, preparation of Private Placement Memorandums (PPM), drafting limited partnershipagreement(LPA),negotiating sideletters,andmanagingtransferagency services. In addition, they provide de- tailed tracking of portfolio investments acrossmultiple fund structures. While integration remains important, today’s environment demandsmore: -Automation to reducemanualwork - Scalability to manage growing com- plexity - Resilience to adapt to market and regu- latory changes Laurent Capolaghi, Managed Services andPrivate EquityLeader at EYLuxem- bourg, observes: “The future of asset man- agement lies in integrated, automated platforms that streamline operations and re- duce risk. This transformation empowers managers to concentrate on driving superior investment outcomes.” What fundmanagers actually need Every asset management firm is built around its core mission: raising capital, sourcing the right assets, structuring and executingdeals, and convertingperform- ance into distributions. Success depends onboth:stronginvestmentresultsandop- erational agilityworkinghand inhand. Assetmanagers - aiming to stay competi- tive - must balance investment excellence with operational agility. By delegating non-core processes to specialized providers, firms unlock efficiency and focus. Integrating managed services into operatingmodels, not as back-office sup- port, but as a strategic driver, will enable seamless execution of the investment life- cycle acrossmarkets and asset classes. The one-stop-shop solution transforming assetmanagement “Assetmanagers require a comprehensive, au- tomated, and digital solution that serves as a one-stopshopforallcomplianceandregulatory requirements. This solution should seamlessly supporttheentirelifecycleoffunds,specialpur- posevehicles(SPVs),andentitiesacrossvarious jurisdictions,” highlights Osman Yildirim, Partner, Accounting Compliance & Re- porting at EYLuxembourg. The requirements are clear and de- manding: - Scalability across jurisdictions Infrastructure funds operate on a global scale, navigating diverse regulatory envi- ronments. Solutionsmust facilitate seam- less management of entities across jurisdictions—fromLuxembourgtoNew York, Singapore, London, Delaware, HongKong, theCayman Islands, andbe- yond—whileavoidingduplicatedwork- flows and inconsistencies that often arise in multi-provider setups. This flexibility empowers asset managers to growwith- out operational bottlenecks, adapting in- stantly tonewmarkets and structures. - Intelligent data architecture Fundmanagers needmore thana reposi- toryforsharingdeliverables.Theyrequire platforms that enable bidirectional data flowandsystems that not only receive in- formation but allowmanagers to extract, integrate, and manipulate data within their own analytical and reporting envi- ronments. This data interoperability is es- sential for portfolio monitoring, risk assessment, and investor reporting. More critically, automation and single-source data architecture dramatically reduce errorratescomparedtomanualdatahan- dling across fragmented systems. - End-to-end coverage for global invest- ment operations Frominvestoronboardingandregulatory complianceatthetopofthevaluechainto portfoliocompanyaccountingand tax re- portingatthebottom,infrastructurefunds needpartnerswho canmanage the entire operational spectrum. Partial solutions create gaps, inefficiencies, and reconcilia- tionheadaches,representingapointofop- erational risk. -Managed services, not just technology Technology alone is not enough. True operational confidence comes from combining advanced automation with expert teams who understand the com- plexities of global fund administration and compliance. This synergy turns risk into resilience. - Reduction of operational risks Automation is not just about speed – it’s about confidence. By eliminating manual processes and reconciliation errors, integrated platforms deliver accuracy and consistency. And when that same platform handles compli- ance tasks like accounting, tax filings, and regulatory reporting across juris- dictions, it becomes a true catalyst for operational transformation. This operational excellence has strategic implications. When fundmanagers trust theiroperationalinfrastructure,theyredi- recttimeandenergyfromfirefightingad- ministrative issues to their core competencies:sourcingcompellinginfra- structure investments, executing value- creation strategies, and delivering superior returns to limitedpartners. Senior CFOs and COOs can focus on strategic financial planning rather than chasing reconciliations. Fund controllers can analyze portfolio performance rather than troubleshooting data discrepancies. Investor relations teams can dedicate themselves to Limited Partner communi- cations rather than explaining delayed or error-corrected reports. The infrastructure sector’s unique demands Operating infrastructure funds face par- ticular operational complexity. Diverse asset types ranging from renewable en- ergyprojects todatacenters, energy stor- age, batteries, electric vehicle charging stations and transportation networks, longholdingperiods andmultiple layers of debt andequity structures acrossmul- tiple jurisdictions, create administration challenges that generic solutions cannot address. The margin for error is slim when managing assets with 15-to-30- year horizons and complex stakeholder arrangements. Shifting from divided providers to inte- grated, automated platforms is more than efficiency. It enhances stability and lowers operational exposure. Vulnerabil- ity becomes reliability. Inconsistency be- comes quality. Administrative burden becomes strategic focus. Inacompetitivemarketforinfrastructure capital, operational excellence is a differ- entiator.Investorsnowassessnotonlyre- turns but operational strength. Regulators demand accurate data and compliance. The funds that thrivewill be those that have eliminated operational riskasavariableintheirsuccessequation. The bottom line: Beyond integration, turning operations into advantages For infrastructure fund managers, the question is no longer whether to pursue integration, but how to identify partners capable of delivering comprehensive, automated solutions that meet evolving industry requirements. The right platformdoes not just stream- line operations, it transforms theminto a competitive advantage, freeing organi- zations to focus entirelyonwhat theydo best: buildingandmanagingworld-class infrastructure portfolios. (1) Sometimes, what is needed is a global presence of over 420,000 professionals, combiningdeepsectorexpertisewithad- vanced automation to deliver integrated operatingmodels tailored toclient needs. Witha footprint spanningmore than150 countries and territories, choose experts that have a borderless reach. ZeeshanAHMED, EYLuxembourgInfrastructureLeader LaurentCAPOLAGHI, EYLuxembourgManagedServicesand PrivateEquityLeader OsmanYILDIRIM, EYLuxembourgPartner,AccountingCompliance& Reporting,ManagedServices 1)EYFinancialManagedServicesPlatform(FMSP) The integration imperative: Why infrastructure fund managers need end-to-end solutions By Shanu SHERWANI, CIO Kneip Management / Partner Antwort Capital P rivate equity has spent decades cul- tivating an aura of exclusivity. It was private not only in name but in spirit: discreet capital raising, negotiated contracts, limited disclosure, and an investor base composed of pen- sion funds, sovereignwealth funds, and a handful of large FamilyOffices. The implicit bargainwas clear. In exchange for opacity, illiquidity and complexity, investors expected higher returns. That bargain isnowbeing rewritten. Across the US and Europe, private eq- uity is being actively repackaged for retail in- vestors. Semi-liquid funds, ELTIF 2.0 (revised EU regulation for European Long-Term Investment Funds) vehicles, feeder structures and monthly subscription products are bringing private mar- kets into retirement plans, private banks and wealth-management platforms. Luxembourg has emerged as a central hub for this expansion. The political signal has been explicit. In 2025, a US ex- ecutive order signed by President Donald Trump encouraged retirement savers to invest in private equity and other alternative assets, framing access to these assets as amat- ter of fairness and opportunity. Global asset managers moved quickly. What was once an institutional niche is now a growth engine targeting mass-afflu- ent investors. But opening private mar- kets to the public comes with consequences the industry has never fully faced. As financial columnist Matt Levine likes to observe, public markets live under a simple rule: everything is securities fraud. When something goes wrong at a listed company, law- suits follow almost auto- matically. Shareholders claim theywere misled, dis- closures are dissected, and courts are asked to arbitrate what investors should reasonably have understood. Private equity largely escaped this dynamic, not be- cause it was immune to disappointment or failure, but because its investors were few, large and so- phisticated — and because capital was raised in controlled, episodic interactions rather than through continuous public-facing flows. That protection is eroding. Retail-oriented private equity products communi- cate frequently, publish performance charts, pro- mote internal rates of return (IRR) and advertise "periodic liquidity." Investors subscribemonthly or quarterly, relying on marketing material and rela- tionshipmanagers rather than on bespoke negotia- tion. In practice, these products begin to resemble public-market instruments—even if their underly- ing assets remain resolutely private. This is precisely the point made in a recent aca- demic paper by Ludovic Phalippou and William Magnuson, “Private Equity, PublicCapital andLit- igationRisk”. Their argument is not that private eq- uity suddenly becomes fraudulent when retail investors enter the picture. It is more subtle—and more unsettling. Practices that have long been normalised in institu- tional private equity, they argue, become legally and reputationally fragile once ordinary investors are in- volved. Performance metrics such as IRR are easily misunderstood outside professional circles. Valua- tions are discretionary. Fees are layered andopaque. Liquidity is conditional. Fiduciary duties are often limited by contractual agreements. Institutional in- vestors accept these limitations because they under- stand them, factor them into their pricing, and have thecapacitytoabsorbanydisappointments.Retailin- vestors, however, donot have the sameunderstand- ing.When their expectationsdonotmatch the actual outcomes,theyaremorelikelytoescalatetheissueto a formal dispute rather than quietly renegotiating. This issuedoesn’t onlyaffect retail investors. Family Offices are increasinglyfinding themselves ina sim- ilar situation.Historically, theyhavebeenviewedas quasi-institutional partners, but many are now being approached through wealth-management channels and offered the same semi-liquid invest- ment structures as affluent retail clients. The level of sophistication among FamilyOffices varieswidely, andsimplyhavingwealthdoes not ensure that they have institutional-grade oversight. As result, they too may face misunderstandings around liquidity, valuation and performance — and may be more willing to challenge outcomes than traditional pen- sion funds ever were. The irony is hard tomiss. Private equity stayed pri- vate, in part, to avoid the relentless scrutiny and lit- igation that define publicmarkets. By chasing retail capital, it risks importing exactly what it sought to escape: public-style accountability, enforcednot pri- marily by regulators, but by courts. For Luxembourg, this shift matters. As Europe’s leading private-markets structuring centre, it sits at the intersection of global asset managers, distribu- tors, FamilyOffices andretail capital.Demand isnot the problem. The challenge lies in aligning gover- nance, transparency, and communication with a much broader, more heterogeneous investor base. Private equity can open its doors to the public. But if it begins to look like a publicmarket, it shouldnot be surprisedwhen investors start treating it likeone. Private Equity Goes Retail