Agefi Luxembourg - mars 2026

AGEFI Luxembourg 22 Mars 2026 Fonds d’investissement A market long considered a value trap ByHiromiISHIHARA,HeadofEquityJapan, Amundi Japan F or decades, Japanese equities were viewedby global inves- tors as a value trap. Despite the country’s technological strength and industrial leadership, the equitymarket consistently traded at a valuationdiscount to its global peers. Lowreturnon equity (ROE), excessive corporate cashbalances andweak shareholder focuswei- ghedonperformance. Today, ho- wever, Japan appears tobe at a structural turningpoint.Acombi- nationof corporate governance re- forms, reflation andpolicy support is transforming the investment case for Japanese equities. The origins of Japan’s valuation dis- count lie in corporate behaviour that pri- oritised stability over efficiency. Many companies accumulated large cash re- serves andmaintained cross-sharehold- ings with business partners, which diluted capital discipline and reduced pressure on management to maximise shareholder value. As a result, Japanese companies often generated lower ROE than their global counterparts, leading to persistent valuation gaps compared with US andEuropeanmarkets. Corporate governance reforms reshape themarket Over the past decade, policymakers and regulators haveworked to address these structural weaknesses. Under the re- form agenda initiated during the Abe administration and continued in subse- quent years, Japan introduced a series of corporate governance measures de- signed to improve capital allocation and strengthen shareholder rights. The Tokyo StockExchange (TSE), regulators and institutional investors have played an active role in encouraging companies to enhance capital efficiency, increase transparency and focus on long-term value creation. Thesereformshavealreadyproducedvis- ible changes. Share buybacks have in- creased significantly, dividend payouts have becomemore stable and companies havebegundivestingnon-coreassets and unwinding cross-shareholdings. By reducing excess balance-sheet assets and returning capital to shareholders, firms are improving capital productivity andliftingearningspershare.Thisprocess supports a gradual increase in ROE and helps narrowJapan’s long-standingvalu- ationdiscount. The return of inflation changes incentives At the same time, the macroeconomic environment in Japan is shifting inways that further strengthen the equity out- look.After decades of deflationandstag- nant wages, the Japanese economy is experiencing a period of reflation. Inflation has averaged above 3% between2023 and2025, accompaniedby wagegrowthandstronger nominalGDP expansion. This environment is funda- mentally different from the deflationary regime that shaped corporate behaviour for more than twenty years. Reflation changes incentives for both companies and investors. In a deflation- ary economy, holding large cash bal- ances preserved value and discouraged risk-taking.With inflation returning and interest rates normalising, idle cash becomes less attractive. Corporations are thereforemore likely to redeploy capital intoproductive investment,mergers and acquisitions, or shareholder returns. The result is a gradual reactivation of corpo- rate investment and a renewed focus on profitability. Policy support and investmentmomentum Government policy is also contributing to this shift. Recent fiscal initiatives em- phasise productivity-enhancing invest- ment in strategic sectors such as infrastructure, advancedmanufacturing and technology. These measures aim to strengthen Japan’s role in global supply chains while supporting domestic eco- nomic growth. Combined with struc- tural reforms and reflation, they create a supportive backdrop for corporate earn- ings and equity performance. Impor- tantly, the rally in Japanese equities in recent years has been driven largely by valuation expansion rather than earn- ings growth. Investors have beenwilling to pay highermultiples as confidence in the reform story increased. The next phase of themarket’s evolution will depend on whether companies de- liver tangible improvements in prof- itability and capital efficiency. Early signs suggest that this transition is al- readyunderway, as governance reforms begin translating into stronger earnings fundamentals. Adiversification opportunity for global investors For global investors seeking diversifica- tion, Japan offers a compelling opportu- nity. International positioning in Japanese equitiesremainsrelativelylightcompared withtheUnitedStates,wheremarketcon- centrationandvaluationlevelshaveraised concerns. As structural reforms continue and corporate behaviour evolves, Japan could increasingly be viewed not as a value trap but as a market undergoing a genuine transformation. Inthatcontext,thecountry’sequityrenais- sance may represent one of the most sig- nificant structural investment stories in developedmarkets today. Japan’s equity renaissance: a structural opportunity for global investors ©Freepik By Vincent MARTIN, Managing Director at Deloitte Luxembourg E very decade or so, a new asset class emerges that reshapes the strategies of alternative investment managers. Private debt and infrastruc- ture were once considered niche; today they are core components of institutional portfolios. The next frontier is digital assets. Historically dismissed as assets for retail traders and crypto enthusiasts, digital assets are undergoing a struc- tural redefinition. The ecosystemhas matured, institutional-grade infra- structure exists, and regulators are closing the gap. What is emerging is not simply new tech- nology,butadistinctassetclasswithitsownriskand returnprofile,adoptioncurve,androleindiversified portfolios. For private equitymanagers, the strategic question is no longer whether digital assets will become relevant, but howandwhen to engage. Why digital assetsmatter Independent research from asset managers such as FranklinTempleton (1) indicates that even a limitedal- location todigital assets can significantly enhance the performanceof a traditional portfolio.Amodest allo- cationintherangeof2-3%hasbeenshowntoincrease overallreturnswhileonlymodestlyimpactingvolatil- ity. The case is clear: although the market capitaliza- tion of digital assets remains a fraction of global equities andbonds, its growth trajectoryhas beenex- ponential. Adoption curves mirror the early days of internet:cryptousershavenowsurpassed400million worldwide,yetoverallpenetrationremainsfarbelow the levels the internet had reached at a comparable stage.Today,digitalassetsaccountforlessthan2%of globalequitymarketcapitalization,highlightingtheir significant growthpotential. Forinstitutionalinvestors,thisisnotaboutspeculation butratheraboutcapturinganasymmetricgrowthop- portunity and adding a component to the portfolio that offers diversification benefits and a compelling risk and returnprofile. Beyond portfolio construction, digital assets are also the building blocks of a new digital economy. They spanabroadspectrum,fromcryptoassetsthatactlike digitalcommoditiestostablecoinsservingason-chain cash equivalents, to decentralized finance protocols thatgenerategovernancerightsandtransaction-based revenues,andtoWeb3infrastructureprovidersoffer- ing custody, payments and compliance services. For private equity managers, this universe pro- vides multiple entry points, including equity stakes in infrastructure firms, hybrid structures combining tokens and equity, and even direct ex- posure to digital assets. Investordemandisincreasinglydrivingman- agers toward digital assets. Family offices haveledtheway,seeingthemasanaturalfit for theirmore opportunisticmandates. Sov- ereign wealth funds are exploring selective exposure—bothdirectlyandthroughspecial- istfunds—reflectingalong-termstrategicview oftheblockchain’sroleinthefinancialsystem. Pensionfundsandinsurers,historicallycau- tious,arebeginningtostudytheassetclass indepth,recognizingthatignoringdigital assetsentirelycouldbecomeaperform- ance disadvantage. At the same time, high-net-worthandnext-generationin- vestors expect portfolios to reflect the digital economy they inhabit daily. For asset managers, the question is no longer whether demand exists, but on providing institutional-grade access tomeet it. Are private equity playersmoving already? Purebuyoutfirmshaveyettolaunchflagshipdigital- assetfunds,butleadingplayersarealreadytakingac- tion. A global buyout house recently led one of the largest funding rounds for a regulated digital asset custodianand later allowedqualified investors to ac- cess one of its flagship growth funds through a tok- enized feeder (2) . A leading US alternatives manager has appointed a regulated custodian to safeguard its first digital asset holdings, signaling a careful but de- liberate balance-sheet entry into themarket (3) . Atransatlanticgrowthequityfirminvestedinadigital assettradingandprimebrokerageplatformvaluedat over one billiondollars (4) .Another top-tier private eq- uity group launched a specialist fund of more than half a billiondollars dedicated toWeb3, structured to invest across both equity and tokens (5) . Meanwhile, a global venture andgrowth investor established a liq- uid token sleeve to provide exposure to governance tokensmuch like a newformof equity (6) . Thepattern is familiar. First come equity investments ininfrastructure—custody,trading,anddata—where governance and revenues are most clearly defined. Next, dedicated digital assets vehicles provide con- trolled exposure to tokens where liquidity and com- pliance frameworks are sufficiently robust. Broader mandateswillfollowasvaluationstandards,account- ing treatment, and liquidity further develop. For senior leaders in private equity, this is no longer experimentation; it represents the early institutional- izationphase of a newasset class. Luxembourg:Aplatformfor institutional digital asset strategies Luxembourgwillnotdeterminetheglobaltrajectory of digital assets, but it offers anotablypragmatic reg- ulatory framework for managers seeking to explore this market. Unlike many jurisdictions, Luxem- bourgallows alternative investment funds topursue a fully digital-asset-focused strategy under regula- tory supervision. Recent updated guidelines from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Finan- cier (CSSF) go even further and, for instance, allow UCITS to invest indirectly into crypto assets for a maximum of up to 10% of their net asset value (NAV) and allow alternative investment funds opened to retail investors other thanwell-informed investors to invest in crypto assets for a maximum of up to 10%of their NAV. This clarity is distinctive in Europe and positions Luxembourg as one of the few markets where institutional managers can structure pure digital asset funds. This approach builds on the country’s broader structuring toolkit. Vehicles such as the reserved al- ternative investment fund (RAIF), the specialized investment fund (SIF), and the European long-term investment fund (ELTIF 2.0) provide a tax-neutral environment aswell as the flexibility to host strate- gies across the spectrum—from infrastructure eq- uity to direct asset holdings—while enabling EU-wide distributionunder theAlternative Invest- ment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). Com- bined with a growing ecosystem of custodians, administrators, andadvisers investing indigital ex- pertise, Luxembourg is consolidating its role as the cross-border hub for institutional digital asset strategies in Europe. Strategic considerations for asset managers Engagingwithdigital assets requires careful strategic reflection. Theopportunityset isbroad.At one endof the spectrum, managers can invest in the infrastruc- ture of the ecosystem—custody providers, trading venues, and compliance platforms—where business models resemble those of financial technology firms and are readilyunderstoodbyprivate equity. Inthemiddleground,hybridmodelscombineequity and tokenexposure, providingbothfinancial returns and governance rights in decentralized protocols. At the other end of the spectrum lies direct exposure to digital assets themselves—cryptocurrencies, stable- coins, and DeFi tokens—which introduce unique volatility and custody challenges, but also offer sig- nificant growthpotential. Operational considerations are equally important. Valuation methodologies must adapt to account for bothliquidandilliquidtokens,sometimeswithinthe same portfolio. Custody arrangements are critical, withregulatorsincreasinglyscrutinizingsafekeeping andrequiringmanagers toworkwithregulateddig- ital custodians. Reporting and risk management frameworksmustevolve,particularlyaroundliquid- ity, counterparty risk, andmarket transparency. Strategically,seniorassetmanagerexecutivesneedto determine how their firms will position themselves. A first-mover approach allows managers to shape standardsandcaptureearlyinvestorflows,butitalso requirescomfortwithhigherexecutionrisk.Afast-fol- lowerstrategymaymitigatesomeoftheserisks,yetit can leave firms trailing competitors that are already articulating a clear digital asset roadmap to their lim- itedpartners.Effectivecommunicationwithinvestors is critical. Managers must be able to explain not only the risks, but also the structural reasons why digital assets deserve a place in a diversifiedportfolio. In summary, digital assets are not a single bet. They represent a continuumof opportunities—fromback- ing the infrastructure rails to allocatingdirectly to the assets themselves, each carryingdistinct implications for governance, operations, and returns. Conclusion: The time to engage Digitalassetsarenolongeracuriosity.Theyrepresent theemergenceofanewassetclass,withthepotential to stand alongside private equity, private debt, and infrastructure in institutional portfolios. For asset managers in alternative investment, the question is not whether to transform their business overnight, but whether to start building the knowledge, collab- orations, and pilot allocations that will position their firms for the future. As the grandfathering period for MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets)licensingrapidlyapproachesitshard deadline on 1 July 2026, the European digital asset landscape is facing a pivotal moment that creates a primebuyingwindowforalternativeassetmanagers. Data from regulators signals a massive compliance gap; inFrance alone, theAutorité desmarchés financiers (AMF) recently identified over 90 registered crypto firms (PSANs) operating without the necessary MiCA authorization, with estimates suggesting nearly 40% of these legacy players have no viable path to licensure or intend to cease operations. This regulatory pressure is mirrored across the EU, forcing awave of distressed sales where valuable in- tellectual property, client bases, and technological in- frastructure will come to market at depressed valuations. For private equity asset managers, this fragmentationoffers a textbook“buy-and-build”op- portunitybyacquiringnon-compliantbutfundamen- tally sound entities to integrate them into fully licensed, institutional-grade platforms. Luxembourgoffers the appropriate framework (reg- ulatory and tax among other things) to support such strategies,includingtheabilitytostructurefundsded- icated entirely to digital assets under regulatory su- pervision.WhilethisisakeydifferentiatorinEurope, theopportunityitselfisglobal,andthetimetoaddress digital assets has arrived. The managers who move earlycouldnotonlycaptureoutsizedreturnsbutwill also help define how this new frontier of investment takes shape. 1)WhyDigitalAssets|AlternativesbyFT 2)AnchorageDigitalRaises$350MillionSeriesDFundingLedbyKKR 3)ApolloCustodiesFirstDigitalAssetHoldingsWithAnchorageDigital 4) Talos extends Series B to $150 million with Robinhood, Sony, BNY in- vestments-LedgerInsights-blockchain forenterprise 5)BainCapitalLaunches$560mCryptoFund–PrivateEquityInsights 6)ABlockStepForward|SequoiaCapital Digital assets: The new frontier for private equity investment strategies