Funds Insider Issue 5
21 April 2022
This edition covers, as usual, a variety of jurisdictions and topics, namely:
- Our global sustainability predictions for 2022
- The introduction of new UK Long-Term Asset Fund
- An overview of Islamic finance in Luxembourg
- The strengthening of foreign investment controls in France
- Proposed changes to the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
- The Luxembourg Stock Exchange Securities Official List as alternative to share trading
- The potential impact of economic sanctions against Russia on credit default swap markets
By just about any measure, private equity enjoyed a record year in 2021 but as we begin 2022, macro-economic and political instability, volatility in international markets, higher energy costs, inflation and interest rate rises have collectively created an increased level of uncertainty for buyers, sellers and funders.
The wider ramifications of the Ukraine war have left almost nobody unaffected and we at Ashurst have continued to support our private capital clients in navigating the complex and thorny web of economic sanctions and in determining how best to protect their interests in circumstances of contract frustration.
The aftershocks of the events that have unfolded over the last couple of months will no doubt be felt in the weeks and months that follow, with a heightened level of corporate distress predicted for the rest of the year and beyond.
ESG continues to be at the top of the agenda for many of our clients, with recent events however unavoidably altering the outlook of previously unattractive industries and businesses (for example oil and gas) so it will be interesting to see how these competing agendas shape investment behaviour going forward.
We hope you enjoy reading this edition of Funds Insider and please do get in touch if you have any feedback or if there are any topics you would like us to cover in future editions.
Funds Insider
FundsInsiderEMEA@ashurst.com
