Will technology provide the magnetic north that helps fund managers navigate their way towards the right strategies through an increasingly complex mesh of regulation and political uncertainty? This was one of the questions addressed at this year’s Funds Event, hosted at the European Convention Centre Luxembourg yesterday.
International and Luxembourg based experts turned their minds and experience to the theme “Investment Trends: Picking the Relevant Strategy”, for the conference moderated by Gunnar Knierim, director of AB.
Opening the conference, Mr Kneirim highlighted the political turmoil that is currently roiling investment seas, making decisions harder to reach. “Nowadays, portfolio management is much more complex than it was 50 years ago. We need to answer the needs of clients to serve them with better advice to fulfil their investments,” he said.
Olivier Portenseigne, managing director of Fundsquare addressed the manner in which increasing regulations are changing fund distribution, while Daniel Drummer, Vice President, Fintech Strategy & Partnerships at J.P. Morgan shared his views on the how Artificial Intelligence may disrupt investment management in the same way that Uber changed transport.
“AI is en vogue at the moment, and is everywhere in the news and discussion: it is now able to win games of Go and can play Super Mario without supervision.”
Reassuring the audience that humans won’t all be defunct yet, Mr Drummer noted AI’s evolution into a commodity, and the way in which open-source software is making data and information more widely available, while social media is also influencing decisions.
Emerging political uncertainties and their inevitable economic outcomes occupied thoughts during a round table on major macroeconomic challenges, moderated by Sasho Bogoevski, managing director, multi asset solutions, AB, who brought together Laurent Gorgemans, first vice-president, Edmond de Rothschild, Jean-Pierre Gomez, head of regulatory & public affairs at Société Générale Securities Services and Kristel Cools, group head of asset management with KBL European Private Bankers.
Mr Gorgemans expressed concern about the many political and economic challenges lying ahead, “The Trump administration will add more barriers and taxes for imported good on the one hand, and inflation is expected to go up in Europe,” he said. Kristel Cools agreed, wondering what lay in store for defensive investors. One thing that did seem certain was the growth in regulation, with challenges to be found in the ever-present need to adapt, and adapt efficiently.
Taking to the stage, Mr Bogoevski then turned his thoughts to politics, populism, globalisation and deflation, and his key investment themes for 2017. He felt that one can notably expect stronger economic growth and inflation, with capital spending picking up over the year, but also wage pressures increasing in the US, Japan and Germany, expecting US 10-year rates to stay below 3% on the back of global demand for income, with US fixed income outperforming Europe and Japan.
Notwithstanding the world’s inconstancy, the day ended on a relatively positive note.
Philippe Ledent, senior economist with ING Belgium & Luxembourg, noted the economy’s current reasonable state of heath and recovery, with improvements being shown across all indicators, though questions remain over Trump’s protectionism in the US, Europe’s uncertain political future.
"In Europe, there are several risks linked to politics with elections in the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, etc., with the risk of a populist vote. Therefore, the recovery continues but the economy is not booming due to these political risks" he said.
Image: Kristal Cools, KBL addressing the round table. Image: Farvest
