The Luxembourg Financial Centre

Luxembourg is the second largest investment fund centre in the world behind the United States, the premier captive reinsurance market in the European Union and the premier private banking centre in the Eurozone.  The financial sector is the largest contributor to the Luxembourg economy.

From its origins as a Eurobond domicile in the 1960s, the financial centre subsequently developed as a private banking centre and then, from the 1980s, as a centre for investment funds. The success of the financial centre is grounded in the social and political stability of the Grand Duchy and on a modern legal and regulatory framework that is continuously updated, inspired by regular consultation between the government, the legislator and the private sector. Thus, over the years, specific regulatory frameworks have been created for alternative investment funds, venture capital companies, international pension funds, the Specialised Investment Fund for institutional and informed investors, covered bonds and the banks that specialise in issuing them, securitisation vehicles and a dedicated vehicle for managing family wealth, the société de gestion de patrimoine familial - SPF.

This legal framework, combined with Luxembourg's llong-standing economic openness to the outside world, has attracted banks, insurance companies, investment fund promoters and specialist service providers from the four corners of the world.

Supervised by a competent and proactive regulatory authority, the Luxembourg financial centre is characterised by a strong culture of investor protection and rigorous anti money-laundering policies.  The workforce is multilingual and multicultural, with a long tradition of financial expertise and extensive experience of the needs of an international clientele.