How digital technological tools help you in operations?
Maria Samuelsson von Oldenskiöld. —“Technology is key to manage growth and be able to scale in the future. The challenge the alternative investment industry, and especially private markets, have is through the standardisation. Many providers are talking about automation and digitisation.
However, it is very often underestimated that the success of technology is driven by standardisation of processes, data and documents. Therefore, working with technology in mind of supporting you in the future is essential, but it should never be forgotten that there is no magic trick when it comes to standardisation and reliable data. Personally, I think this is the area most private market managers have underestimated the operational challenge.
How do you find the current regulatory environment?
“Having had the pleasure to work with a range of jurisdictions the last two decades, I must admit that I struggle at times to see that the current regulatory environment in Europe and especially in Luxembourg is in the best interest of our clients. I absolutely see where the alternative investment management directive (AIFMD) came from, with the whole Madoff scandal.
However, to be frank, I must admit it is very unfortunate that private market investments are placed in the same group as hedge funds. The AIFMD may be well tailored for hedge funds, however, I could not always agree it’s the same for private markets investments and the investors investing in this asset class. This results in undue operational inefficiency and costs, which is not in the interest of our investors. It rather dilutes the return then protects them.
What will be the place of AIFs in the coming years in Luxembourg?
“I personally hope that Luxembourg will be THE place for the AIFs in the coming years. However, these demands that we as an industry act in the best interests of the investors. There is a lot we can do as an industry; we need to challenge ourselves to always think about effective ways of working together as a jurisdiction and as providers to our clients.
The number one question should always be ‘is it in the best interest of the clients?’ We need to ensure we protect the clients’ best interest and at the same time, that we can provide a service offering where we shorten the timelines, and provide a more effective solution in a cost-efficient way.
FASTER, BETTER, CHEAPER. With the macro-economic challenges we face and the returns may reduce, we need to make sure those returns are not eaten up by fees.”