Agefi Luxembourg - juillet août 2026

AGEFI Luxembourg 32 Juillet / Août 2026 Fonds &Marchés R ecent geopolitical develop­ ments have exposedEu­ rope’s dependence onother regions for energy, rawmaterials, technology and critical supply chains. Conflicts and trade disrup­ tions have demonstrated that this reliance poses significant risks to both economic stability and secu­ rity. As a result, strategic autonomy hasmoved to the topof the Euro­ pean agenda. Strategic autonomy means strengtheningEurope’s abi­ lity to secure essential products, technologies and infrastructure in­ dependently. The objective is not to withdrawfromglobal trade, but ra­ ther tobuild a stronger,more inno­ vative andmore resilient economy. According toChristopheHautin, Senior Portfolio Manager Equity, and Mark Wade, Head of Sustainability Research and Stewardship at Allianz Global Investors, it provides a pathway to sus­ tainable growth throughdiversification, innovation and the development of strategic capabilities. The European Commission considers strategic autonomy a key driver of Europe’s future economic growth and competitiveness. By investing in strate­ gic sectors, Europe can reduce its vul­ nerability to external shocks while cre­ ating new economic opportunities. At the same time, Europe holds substantial household savings, much of which cur­ rently remains in lowyield bank deposits. Redirecting even a portion of these savings towards productive investments could support economic growth while helping to finance future pension obligations. Our investment framework focuses on eightkeyareaswherestrengtheningcapa­ bilities, policy alignment and resource allocation can significantly enhance Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and security: energy, defence, water, food, healthcare, the financial ecosystem, cli­ mate resilience and technology. Energy security and defense Energy is one of the most important investment themes. The energy crisis of recent years has highlighted the impor­ tance of a reliable and affordable energy supply. Europe is therefore investingnot only in renewable energy, but also in electricity grids, energy storage, more efficient energy systems and the infras­ tructure needed to connect multiple energy sources. These investments will make Europe’s energy system more secure, sustainable and less dependent on external suppliers. Defence has also become an increasingly importantpriority.Risinggeopoliticalten­ sionsaredrivinghigherdefencespending across Europe. However, investment opportunities extend well beyond tradi­ tional defence contractors. Companies specialising in cybersecurity, secure com­ munications, sensor technology, drones, digital infrastructure and data processing arealsoexpectedtobenefit.Manyofthese technologieshavevaluableapplicationsin both the defence and civilian sectors. Healthcare and technology Healthcareresiliencehasbecomeanother strategicpriority.TheCOVID19pandem­ icanddisruptionstoglobalsupplychains exposed Europe’s dependence on other regionsformedicinesandpharmaceutical ingredients. In response, the European Union is encouraging investment inmedical tech­ nology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, digital healthcare, diagnostics and the development of innovative medicines. At the same time, efforts are beingmade to improve the availability of essential medicines within Europe. Technology is another cornerstone of strategic auton­ omy. Europe already holds strong posi­ tions in industrial software, automation and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Further investment is expect­ ed in digital infrastructure, cloud com­ puting, cybersecurity, automation and data management. These investments are essential for advancingEurope’s dig­ ital economy and strengthening its long­ term competitive position. Growing focus on climate adaptation Climate change is also creating the need for significant new investments. Europe isincreasinglyfacingdroughts,floodsand otherextremeweatherevents,makingcli­ mate adaptation an urgent priority. Investment opportunities include water management, water treatment, climate­ resilient infrastructure, environmental technologies and more sustainable agri­ cultural practices. Strategic autonomy is therefore evolving fromapolicyobjectiveintoadefiningeco­ nomic and investment theme for Europe. By investing in energy, defence, health­ care, technology and climate adaptation, Europe can strengthen its economic resilience,reduceitsdependenceonexter­ nal partners and enhance its longterm competitiveness.Forinvestors,thiscreates attractive opportunities in sectors that are expected to play a central role in shaping Europe’s future economy. Strategic autonomy: a new engine for European economic growth ©AllianzGI ByTimVANVAERENBERGH,CEO,ShelterInvestment Management The wrong conversation W hen investors sit downwith an assetmanager, the conversa­ tion tends to followa fa­ miliar pattern.Which funds are you recommending?What does your top 10 stocks look like?What is your track record?Who are your portfoliomanagers? These are reasonable ques­ tions. They are also, in a sense, thewrong ones to start with. Themore consequential decision, how capital isdividedacrossassetclasses,oftengetslessattention than it deserves. That imbalance has costs. In 1986, Gary Brinson, Randolph Hood, and Gilbert Beebower published a study that has shaped invest­ ment thinking ever since, not always in ways its authors intended. They examined the quarterly returns of 91 large US pension funds over nearly a decade,comparingactualperformancetoahypothet­ ical fundholding the same average asset allocation in indexed form. Their finding: onaverage, 93.6%of the variability in a fundʹs returns over time was attributable to asset allocation policy, not to security selectionormarket timing. The paper has not been without critics. Explaining variation in returns is not the same as explaining absolute return levels, andsubsequentresearchershaverefinedthe originalconclusions.Afollowupstudycov­ ering 82 large pension plans nonetheless confirmed that asset allocation policy remainsthedominantcontributor to total return, with active man­ agement decisions adding little onaverageoveratenyearperiod. The nuances matter. The broad conclusionhas held. Fromindividual lines to building blocks For much of the history of profes­ sional investment management, portfolios were assembled with individual lines of stocksandbonds.Thatapproachreflectedthemarkets of its time: fewer instruments, less global complexity, more room for individual selection tomake a differ­ ence at the portfolio level. Markets have changed. The universe of investable instruments is wider than it has ever been, and gen­ uinedepthofexpertiseacrossallofitisnotsomething any single team can credibly claim. At Shelter Investment Management, we stopped pretending otherwise some time ago.Whenwe like, for instance, highyieldbondsintheNordics,wewantbroadexpo­ sure froma specializedmanager. We build portfolios from building blocks: defined exposures to specific asset classes, geographies, and risk factors, each selected for a clear purpose within the overall structure. The architecture of a portfolio, howthoseblocksfittogether,iswherethemostimpor­ tant decisions getmade. Active or passive: a debate we donʹt lose sleep over Onepracticalconsequenceofworkingthiswayisthat theactiveversuspassivedebatelosessomeofitsheat. In liquid, heavily researched markets, the evidence for consistent active outperformance after fees is lim­ ited,andlowcostpassiveexposureoftenmakesmore sense.Inlessefficientsegments,certaincreditmarkets, specialist alternatives, parts of the emerging market universe,skilledmanagerswithagenuineandrepeat­ able edge do exist, and the fees they charge can be justified.Thechoicebetweenactiveandpassiveisnot aphilosophyat Shelter IM. It is aquestionwe answer differently depending on the asset class, the market environment, and what the manager universe actu­ ally looks like at any givenmoment. Knowingwhat youdo not know Themoredemandingpart of this approach iswhat it requires internally: a willingness to look outside. Rather than defaulting to inhouse strategies across the board, we search for the best available external managers for each role in a portfolio. Where a spe­ cialistdoessomethingbetterthanwedo,thatspecialist gets the allocation, which, in an open architecture approach, is more often than not the case. This is sometimescalledacoresatelliteapproach.Itisacost­ efficientcoreofbroadmarketexposures,withtargeted satellite positionsmanagedby specialistswhere gen­ uine added value exists. The label is less important than the logic: the clientʹs portfolio should be built around the best available options, not around the organizational boundaries of any single firm. The incentives to keep everything inhouse are real, and they belong to the manager rather than the investor.Feeconsolidation,operationaltidiness,brand coherence… none of these serve the person on the othersideofthetable.Therelevantquestionissimpler: for each role in this portfolio, is this the best available option? Structure before selection The investment industry generates a great deal of noisearoundfundselection,managerpersonality,and shortterm performance. Those things matter at the margins. The research suggests the more important decisions are structural and driven by strategic and tactical asset allocation, made before a single stock is pickedor a singlemanager is chosen. That is where we think the effort should go. Getting thearchitectureright,selectingthebestavailableexpo­ sures for each part of it, and being honest about the limits of what any one organization can do well. We don’t pretend to know everything, we’d rather pick thebrainsof peoplewhohaveproven toknowapar­ ticular asset class inside out. Structure before selection: the decision that drives most of your returns L a fintech luxembourgeoise Investre S.A. a annoncé, le 9 juillet, la finali­ sationdʹune augmentationde capi­ tal de 2,4millions dʹeuros, une opération destinée à accélérer le développement de son infrastructure de tokenisationde fonds dʹinvestissement. Cette levée de fonds, soutenue par les action­ naires historiques de la société, marque également lʹarrivée de KneipManagement SA comme nouvel actionnaire, renforçant ainsi la position dʹInvestre sur unmarché euro­ péen enpleine évolution. Cette opération intervient alors que le secteur de la gestion dʹactifs connaît unemontée en puissance de la tokenisation. Après plusieurs années consacrées auxexpérimentations et auxprojetspilotes, les socié­ tés de gestion, les prestataires de services aux fonds et les distributeurs passent progressivement à une exploitation à grande échelle de cette technologie. Investre entend tirer parti de cette dynamique en proposantuneinfrastructurepermettantlʹémis­ sion, le règlement et la gestion de fonds dʹin­ vestissement directement sur une technologie de registre distribué (DLT). Les capitaux nouvellement levés permettront à la société de franchir une nouvelle étape dans le développement de sa plate­ forme. Lʹun des principaux objec­ tifs est la mise en place dʹun pro­ cessus de règlement entièrement « onchain»pour les opérations dʹinvestissement, afin dʹauto­ matiser et de sécuriser davan­ tage les transactions. Investre prévoit également de déployer une infrastruc­ ture de portefeuilles numé­ riques conforme aux exigences de la réglementation européenneMiFID, aussi bien pour les investisseurs institutionnels que pour les clients particuliers présents sur lemarché européen. Basée au Luxembourg, premier centre européen pour les fonds dʹinvestissement, la fintech accom­ pagne déjà des clients dans plusieurs pays euro­ péens. Grâce à cette augmentation de capital, elle prévoit également de renforcer ses équipes techno­ logiques et opérationnelles afin de soutenir la crois­ sance de ses activités. Une partie des fonds sera consacrée au développement de nouvelles intégra­ tions avec les principaux acteurs de lʹindustrie des fondsainsiquʹàlʹaccélérationdelʹintégrationdenou­ veaux émetteurs sur sa plateforme. Pour Georges Bock (cf. portrait), directeur général et cofondateurdʹInvestre, cette levéede fonds reflète lʹévolution rapide des attentes du marché. « Il y a deux ans, nous passions notre temps à expliquer ce quʹest la tokenisation.Aujourdʹhui, laquestionquʹon nous pose est de savoir à quelle vitesse nous pou­ vonsladéployer.Cetteaugmentationdecapitalnous permet dʹy répondre à grande échelle, partout en Europe. Et lʹarrivéedeKneipparmi nos actionnaires montreque les acteurs lesplus expérimentésdusec­ teur des fonds croient à cette nouvelle étape de son développement », atil déclaré. LʹentréedeKneipManagementSAaucapitalestper­ çue comme un signal fort pour Investre. Spécialisée dans les services destinés à lʹindustrie des fonds dʹin­ vestissement, cette entreprise apporte à la fintech un partenaire reconnu au sein de lʹécosystème financier luxembourgeois.Cettecollaborationdevraitfavoriser ledéveloppement de nouvelles synergies et accélérer lʹadoption des solutions de tokenisation proposées parInvestreauprèsdesacteurstraditionnelsdelages­ tiondʹactifs. La tokenisation des fonds consiste à représenter des parts de fonds dʹinvestissement sous forme de jetons numériques enregistrés sur une blockchain ou un registre distribué. Cette technologie promet de sim­ plifier les opérations, de réduire les délais de règle­ ment, dʹaméliorer la transparence des transactions et dʹautomatiser de nombreuxprocessus administratifs grâce aux contrats intelligents. Plusieurs établisse­ ments financiers européens considèrent désormais cette évolution comme une étape majeure dans la modernisationdes infrastructures demarché. CrééeauLuxembourg,InvestreestagrééeparlaCSSF en qualité dʹAgent deContrôle dans le cadre de la loi Blockchain IV. Outre son infrastructure destinée aux professionnels de la gestion dʹactifs, lʹentreprise exploite également Moniflo, une plateforme dʹinves­ tissement destinée aux particuliers. Avec cette nou­ velle levée de fonds, Investre ambitionne dʹaccélérer sondéveloppementcommercialettechnologiqueafin derépondreàunedemandecroissantepourlessolu­ tions de tokenisation à lʹéchelle européenne. Investre accélère la tokenisation des fonds