Agefi Luxembourg - mars 2025

AGEFI Luxembourg 8 Mars 2025 Banques / Assurances P our Fouad Charrite (cf. portrait), Investment and Business Coor- dination Director OneLife, l’in- tégration de Private Equity dans un contrat d’assurance-vie luxembour- geois offre de nombreux atouts, mais ce support, comme il le rappelle, pré- sente également des enjeux à la fois pour le client final et pour la place financière de façon plus globale. Il nous livre son analyse du sujet. LePrivateEquity (PE), ouca- pital-investissement, se posi- tionne de plus en plus comme un levier straté- gique pour une gestion de patrimoine efficace et du- rable, notamment au sein des contrats d’assurance-vie luxembourgeois. Cette classe d’actifs, qui consiste à investir dans des entreprises non cotées en bourse, notamment via des fonds, présente de nombreux avantages pour les investisseurs. Le Private Equity s’impose en effet comme un vec- teurpuissantdediversificationdanslescontratsd’as- surance-vie en offrant une stabilité qui peut se révéler précieuse face aux fluctuations des marchés boursiers traditionnels. «En permettant l’accès à des actifs non cotés, souvent moins exposés aux varia- tions immédiates du marché, le PE offre aux inves- tisseurs une opportunité de moins être exposé à la volatilité tout en soutenant l’économie réelle» ex- plique Fouad Charrite. Ce type d’investissement donneeneffetlapossibilitédecontribueraudévelop- pement d’entreprises innovantes ou en pleine crois- sance, souvent dans des secteurs émergents ou en transformation, tels que la technologie ou les énergies renouvelables. De ce fait, le PE s’ins- crit parfaitement dans une stratégie de place- ment à long terme, objectif central des contrats d’assurance-vie. Unplacement privilégié pour l’assurance-vie luxembourgeoise Les contrats d’assurance-vie luxembourgeois bénéficient d’une structure juridique par- ticulièrement flexible, per- mettant d’intégrer des fonds de Private Equity au sein de Fonds InternesDédiés (FID) ou de Fonds d’Assurance Spéciali- sés (FAS). «En 2022, les fonds de PE représen- taientdéjà6%delacollectetotaleenas- surance-vie, un chiffre prometteur, témoignantdel’attraitcroissantdecetteclassed’actifs pour les investisseurs patrimoniaux» ajoute Fouad Charrite.Cesfondspeuventêtrerégulésounonrégu- lés, mais bénéficient tous de la protection offerte par le Triangle de Sécurité luxembourgeois, un cadre de protection unique qui assure aux souscripteurs une sécurité accrue pour leurs investissements. Le Luxembourg, en tant que place financière, offre une grande flexibilité aux assureurs en matière de structure de produits. Cette architecture ouverte per- metauxinvestisseursd’exploiterpleinementlepoten- tiel du Private Equity tout en bénéficiant de la décorrélationdesmarchésfinanciers.Deplus,certains assureurs luxembourgeois permettent aux investis- seurs de souscrire à des fonds à capital call : une ap- proche flexible qui permet de financer progressivement desprojets surplusieurs années, ré- duisant ainsi les risques liés à une exposition trop ra- pide à des actifs non liquides. Cemécanisme permet aux souscripteurs d’étaler leur investissement et de mieux gérer leur trésorerie, tout en continuant à pro- fiter des opportunités offertes par le PE. OneLife : expertise et innovation dans le Private Equity L’assurance-vie luxembourgeoise est particulière- ment bien représentée par des acteurs comme One- Life, qui se distingue par son expertise technique et réglementaire enmatière de Private Equity. OneLife esteneffetunesociétépionnièredanslamiseenplace de solutions d’investissement dans les actifs non cotés,offrantàsesintermédiairescourtiersetconseil- lers en gestion de patrimoine (CGP) des outils per- formants pour structurer des portefeuilles adaptés aux profils de leurs clients. Lasociétéproposeunegammecomplètedesolutions d’investissement, notamment dansdes fondsdePri- vateEquity,quipermettentàsesclientsdediversifier leur patrimoine et de participer à des projets à forte valeur ajoutée dans des secteurs innovants. L’undes principaux avantages de ces solutions est leur capa- cité à répondre à la demande croissante de fonds de PE intégrant des critères ESG (Environnementaux, SociauxetdeGouvernance),unetendancedeplusen plus forte dans le secteur financier. Lamontée des critères ESG : un enjeupour le Private Equity Aujourd’hui,lesecteurduPrivateEquityestfortement influencéparlescritèresESG.«Lesinvestisseurscher- chent non seulement des rendements attractifs, mais égalementàs’assurerqueleursplacementsontunim- pactpositifsurlasociétéetl’environnement»complète Fouad Charrite. Dans ce cadre, les gestionnaires de fonds de PE sont de plus en plus amenés à intégrer des pratiques d’Investissement Socialement Respon- sable(ISR)dansleurstratégiedesélectiondesprojets. Les entreprises dans lesquelles ils investissent sont désormais scrutées non seulement sur leurs perfor- mances économiques,mais aussi sur leur respect des normessocialesetenvironnementales.Cependant,un des défis majeurs reste la transparence et l’harmoni- sationdescritèresESG.Celaconstitueunenjeumajeur pour les acteursdusecteur, commeOneLife, qui doi- vent travailler avec leurs partenaires afin de garantir que les critères ESG soient non seulement respectés, maisaussimesurablesdemanièrefiableetcohérente. Le Private Equity : un investissement de conviction Bienque lePrivateEquity soit devenuun incontour- nabledanslaconstructiond’unportefeuillepatrimo- nial, il est crucial de rappeler que ce type d’inves- tissementdoitresteruninvestissementdeconviction sur le long terme.Même si la démocratisationduPE a permis à certains acteurs de proposer des minima d’investissement inférieurs à 100.000 euros, il est es- sentiel de comprendreque lePrivateEquityn’est pas une solution adaptée à tout type d’investisseur. «Le Private Equity nécessite une approche réfléchie et un accompagnement personnalisé. En effet, bien qu’il puisseoffrirdes rendements attractifs et unedi- versificationintéressante,ilcomportedesrisquesspé- cifiques, notamment liés à la liquidité et à la durée d’investissement» conclut FouadCharrite. Il est donc fondamental de se faire conseiller par des experts pour choisir les fonds les mieux adaptés à ses objectifs de patrimoine et à son appétence au risque. La robustesse du gestionnaire de fonds, sa capacité à sélectionner des entreprises de qualité et à gérer les risques de manière proactive sont des critères clés pour assurer la réussite d’un investis- sement en Private Equity. Private Equity et assurance-vie : Un duo gagnant pour une gestion de patrimoine durable T he International Standard onSustai- nabilityAssurance (ISSA) 5000, is- suedby the InternationalAuditing andAssurance Standards Board (IAASB), is the first comprehensive fra- meworkdesigned to guide assurance practitioners in evaluating andprovi- ding assurance on sustainability-re- lated information, aiming to strengthen trust and confi- dence among investors, re- gulators, and other stakeholders.Applied in the context of theCorporate SustainabilityReportingDi- rective (CSRD), ISSA5000 was expected to be amajor step in enhancing the credibility and relia- bility of sustainability reporting, but the re- cent “Omnibus SimplificationPackage” (Omnibus)may change itsmarket appetite. Introduction ofOmnibus and its impact on ISSA5000 As of mid-February 2025, more than 70 CSRD re- ports in16European jurisdictionshavealreadybeen publishedunder the limited assurance of ISAE 3000 (Revised). Companies fromWave 1 (large public in- terest entities withmore than 500 employees) made good efforts to meet the requirements of the newly establishedEuropeanSustainabilityReportingStan- dards (ESRS). Some of the companies have indicated quite a high level of readiness leveraging their prior sustainability reportingunderthedifferentavailableframeworks— including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sus- tainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), or Non-Financial ReportingDirective (NFRD)—while others have gone through a more sophisticated processofnavigatingthesestandardsforthefirsttime. Finally, some companies aimed tooutperformbyex- ample,whileothersfocusedonmeetingonlythemin- imum requirements. This highlights the significant segmentation amongmarket participants within the framework of the commonEUdirective. Themost challengingareas of reporting,where com- panies lacked information, included estimates, links withfinancial information, long-termtargets, scenar- iosandparticularlydataacrosstheentirevaluechain. As a result, some but not many of the assurance re- portscontainedanemphasisontheDoubleMaterial- ity Assessment (DMA) process, quantitative metrics andmonetaryamounts.Thelargerportion,neverthe- less, had a clear conclusion. Given the uncertainty, it isnoteworthythatasignificantnumberofcompanies are alreadymaking goodprogress in preparing their sustainability reporting, being able to break the ice, which is important and should be maintained and carried forward. Currently, the changes proposed by the Omnibus published on 26 February 2025 are driven by strong pushbackfrombusinessesandotherstakeholdersad- vocatingforsimplification,delaysinimplementation, and easing of the CSRD requirements. While these concerns are understandable, they should not serve asareasonfordiscouragementamongthecompanies in the first group. These are the companies that have thepotentialtodrivethemarketdevelopmentandes- tablish the rules for the newnormal. The publication of the Omnibus may shift the per- ception and application of the assurance standards. As communicated in the proposal, there will be no further requirement for reasonable assurance for ESRS compliant sustainability reporting. Further- more,insteadofmandatingtheCommissiontoadopt sustainability assurance standards by 2026, the new directionwill focus on establishing assurance guide- lines, offering a more flexible and responsive ap- proach to emerging needs. This shift not only removes the requirement for sus- tainability statement assurance but also significantly impacts the market. What comes next for ISSA 5000 - whether this will be maintained for other types of sustainability reporting or remain dormant - is still uncertain. The genesis of ISSA5000 So far, companies have received limited assurance on their sustainability statements. This is not only due to a lack of standards but also due to the limi- tations and premature state of practices in reporting in a comparable and consistent way amongmanyof theEUentities.With the evolution of the sustainability report- ing standards, the need formore compre- hensive and relevant assurance standards has evolved. This evolution should allow firms to tackle different areas of sustain- ability disclosures, including the esti- mates, forward-looking information, greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the DMA process itself. In this context, the introductionof the ISSA 5000 standard in December 2026 was expected to lead to a sig- nificant shift in the landscape of sustainability reporting.As thefirst global standard for sustainability assurance, ISSA 5000 utilizes a new approach for more rigorous and transparent sustainability practices. While it is al- ready approved andpublished, currently its appli- cation is voluntary until 2026. How ISSA is different from ISAE The ISSA5000 standard is set toprepare themarket for a more accurate approach to sustainability as- surance, ensuring that investors, regulators, and stakeholders can rely on accurate, verifiable, and comparable sustainability data. While both ISSA 5000 and ISAE 3000 (revised) are assurance stan- dards. Theydiffer as far as their scope, applicability and frameworks are concerned. - Scope : ISSA5000 applies conceptswhich are con- sistent to those of ISAE 3000 (revised), however, it additionally meets the particular needs of sustain- ability reporting and addresses both limited and reasonable assurance levels. - Applicability : While ISAE 3000 (revised) serves as a general standard for reporting on awide range of subjectmatters, ISSA5000providesmore specific requirements and guidance for key sustainability areas of priority. - Frameworks : If ISSA 5000 is applied, there is no further need to also comply with ISAE 3000 (re- vised), as this overarching standard is also compat- iblewith The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) Code for ethical require- ments. Being tailored to the sustainability reportingneeds, ISSA5000 is designed to allowmore structured as- surance requirements. The guidelines which are nowon the agenda of the Commission to be devel- opedby 2026will carry somewhat a short-termna- ture, as theywill be targeted specifically tomeet the requirements of the current “less burden”, “less cost”, “less administration” demand. However, companies are still encouraged to take the lead in voluntary reporting, which could shift the industry froma regulation-led approach to amarket-driven reporting standard. If businesses choose to report and seek assurance on their sustainability disclo- sures, they may set a new trend where strong sus- tainability reportingbecomes thenorm, not because regulations require it, but becausemarket expecta- tions and industry leadership drive it. Besides, it is also designed to allow the assurance of the forward-looking information, reflected in the development of the targets, transitionplans, scenar- ios and risks, as well as detailed decarbonization plans. It is broadening the scope ofwhat canbe ver- ifiedunder the estimations, including those related to greenhouse gas emissions, carbon pricing mod- els or other unavailable data. However, it remains uncertain how the specific guidelines will address these issues, the level of detail they will provide, andwhether theywill uphold the concept of assur- ing forward-looking information. Theymay either build upon the ISSA 5000 approach or be devel- oped according to a separate agenda. Challenges that ISSA 5000 will still not resolve With the introductionofOmnibus, ISSA5000might not be a top priority in the upcoming couple of years. However, the strategic development of the sustainability agenda is still important and sooner or later the need for sustainability assurance stan- dards will return as the market and the reporting processes mature. It will still need to maintain the same level of authority as assurance standards on financial audit or other information. The standards as they currently stand will still encounter some limitations inproviding assurance on assumptions, forward-looking information, and judgmental areas.While it represents a step forward compared to other assurance standards, itwill continue to face scrutiny and refinement before it can be effectively applied across specific industries and different company sizes. Moreover, as sustainability reporting standards are constantly evolving, there may come a time when these standards no longer cover all relevant aspects, whichmeans it will also change its content and re- quirements over time. So probably this is a good time andopportunity for learning andunderstand- ing the further issues posed by sustainability re- porting and tailoring to emerging needs. Raphaël BETTI, Partner, CCaSS Leader Lidya CHERKEZYAN, Manager, CCaSS EY Luxembourg Will ISSA5000 survive the Omnibus turbulence?