Luxembourg's efforts at attracting investors is beginning to pay dividends

offshore

The Grand Duchy has benefited from a modern legal and fiscal framework that has always proved appealing to European investors. But having recently broken through the e1 trillion barrier in terms of assets under management, it is in no mood to rest on its laurels

Luxembourg is fast catching up with France to become Europe's largest investment fund centre. In February, assets under management in Luxembourg in domiciled investment funds passed the milestone of e1 trillion to reach an all-time high of e1.03 trillion at the end of March. Over the 12 months ending in the first quarter of 2004, this represents an increase of net assets in Luxembourg funds by almost e209bn, or over 25%. Such strong growth might be surprising in the light of the financial scandals concerning market timing and late trading practices that shook the US investment fund sector ...