On Wednesday, the annual Funds Event 2016 attracted over 150 people from the funds industry to the New Conference Center Kirchberg on Place de l'Europe.
Following a morning session involving panel discussions on thematic investments, digital transformation, etc., the afternoon session started with Etienne De Callatay, Chief Economist at the University of Namur and UCL in Belgium, delivering a presentation on the European Gap, covering economic and policy challenges for 2016.
He started off by explaining that Europe has been looking outward to the rest of the world, including to what is happening in china and Japan, plus the normalisation of interest rate policy in the US. While looking at the IMF forecast, the key risks are highlighted to be China, oil and other commodities, emerging markets and the US interest rate rise. "Without being Eurocentric" he explained "Europe could be a key concern over the coming quarters" as new issues require political assurances to deal with fundamental issues.
Solutions were found, he stated, to the financial crisis and the Greek crisis; however these were technical solutions. Currently there is a disconnect stemming from the (political) make-up of countries after the end of the Second World War.
The event also examined geopolitical and macroeconomic issues and held another series of workshops before the mid-afternoon conclusion.
Those attending included family offices directors, private bankers, and life insurers, decision-makers in the fields of funds or pension funds.
Photo by Geoff Thompson: Etienne De Callatay
