22 October 2025
Digital Event
Focus on Investing
Date & Time
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Wednesday, 22 October 2025
from 10:00 to 11:00
Location
- Digital Event
Investment strategies are being reshaped by a convergence of macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and structural transformation, with investors having to navigate a market defined by both immediate shocks and long-term shifts. At the same time, geopolitical tensions, from US relations with a wide array of countries to conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, are redrawing the contours of global capital flows.
Against this backdrop, structural trends are taking centre stage. The energy transition, nearshoring of supply chains, increased focus on defense, demographic change, and the growing role of alternative assets are reshaping the way capital is allocated. Thematic strategies are evolving in response, balancing investor appetite for targeted exposures with the challenge of delivering returns in a fragmented environment.
Private debt, real assets, and infrastructure are also gaining ground as investors reassess portfolio composition. With banks retreating from parts of the lending market, private debt is filling financing gaps, while real assets and infrastructure are increasingly viewed as inflation hedges and long-term stabilisers.
At the heart of these debates lie fundamental questions, including: can the EU’s ambition to build a Savings and Investment Union deliver in practice? And how will investors recalibrate portfolios in a time of polycrisis?
Our Focus on Investing digital event brings together policymakers and asset managers to provide an in-depth look at the forces shaping investor behaviour as well as the opportunities and risks that lie ahead.
For sponsorship opportunities and information regarding the event, please contact: Sara Pereira
Replay
Programme
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10:00
Welcome Address
Matias Rubiolo, Business Development Adviser, Luxembourg for Finance
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10:05
Keynote Speech: Investing in a time of polycrisis
Vincenzo Vedda, Chief Investment Officer, DWS Group
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10:15
How are thematic strategies evolving?
Moderator: Hind El Gaidi, Co-Chief Control Officer & Head of the Luxembourg office, ICG
Luigi Antonaci, Head of Equity, Eurizon Capital
Omar Moufti, EMEA Head of Sector, Themes & Commodities, iShares by BlackRock
Michael Steward, Head of Equities Business Strategy, Amundi
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10:40
Private debt, real assets & infra: rethinking the allocation mix
Douglass Welch, Managing Director, Pemberton Asset Management
Interviewed by: Corinne Lamesch, Deputy CEO & General Counsel, Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI)
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10:55
Closing Remarks
Matias Rubiolo, Business Development Adviser, Luxembourg for Finance
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Speakers
Luigi Antonaci
Head of Equity, Eurizon Capital
Contact:
Luigi Antonaci graduated cum laude in Economics from Bocconi University in 2002 and became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder in 2006. He began his career as a teaching assistant at Carlo Cattaneo University in Castellanza, before joining Sanpaolo Wealth Management Luxembourg S.A. (now Eurizon Capital S.A.) in 2003 as Assistant Portfolio Manager on the equity desk.
He then became Portfolio Manager in 2004 for Eurizon Capital’s equity sub-funds focused on emerging markets, and in May 2011 was appointed Head of the Equity Emerging Markets Desk, overseeing strategy and investment decisions across a broad range of funds.
Since January 2018, he has served as Head of Equity at Eurizon Capital S.A., leading a team of portfolio managers specialized in the stock markets of developing, emerging, and frontier countries. Under his leadership, the team manages portfolios through a process that combines benchmark analysis, liquidity considerations, and quantitative optimization to maximize expected returns within defined risk limits. The approach integrates factor analysis (value, growth, momentum, risk), country and sector insights, market conditions, macroeconomic forecasts, and valuation analysis, supported by proprietary and external quantitative models.
Hind El Gaidi
Co-Chief Control Officer & Head of the Luxembourg office, ICG
Contact:
Hind El Gaidi is Co-Chief Control Officer at ICG Plc and head of the Luxembourg office. Hind is also the President of the Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LPEA) since June 2025.
With over 15 years of experience in corporate finance and private equity, Hind has built a distinguished career across three countries. She began at PwC in Amsterdam, specializing in M&A transactions, business restructurings, and carve-outs for listed companies in the Amsterdam Euronext. In 2016, she relocated to Luxembourg, where she joined PwC’s Deal Advisory practice before transitioning to Astorg in 2019 as Conducting Officer and Head of Financial Information and Investor Services.
Hind holds an MBA from Duisenberg School of finance and an MSc from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands. Prior to that, Hind majored in Economics and Business Law from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis.
Corinne Lamesch
Deputy CEO & General Counsel, Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI)
Contact:
Corinne Lamesch is Deputy CEO and General Counsel of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI), a role she has held since September 2024.
She previously served as Chair of the ALFI Board of Directors from June 2019 to June 2023.
With more than 25 years of experience in the Luxembourg fund industry, Corinne built her career across leading law firms and the asset management sector. She joined Fidelity International in 2008 to head its European legal department, later becoming Country Head for Luxembourg in 2017. From 2015 until August 2024, she also acted as Conducting Officer of Fidelity’s Luxembourg-based management company.
Earlier in her career, Corinne practiced law at Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy (1998–2008), advising clients on Luxembourg and international investment fund matters.
She holds two Master’s degrees in Law, from Université Robert Schuman in Strasbourg and from New York University School of Law. Corinne was admitted to the Luxembourg Bar (1999–2008) and has been a member of the New York Bar since 1998.
Omar Moufti
EMEA Head of Sector, Themes & Commodities, iShares by BlackRock
Contact:
Omar Moufti is the EMEA Head of Sector, Themes & Commodities at iShares by BlackRock.
Omar joined BlackRock in January 2020. This followed two years at EFG Bank in Switzerland, where he served as Senior Equity Specialist and helped set up the private bank’s advisory offering. Prior to this, he spent 10 years in Union Bancaire Privée’s asset management division, across London, Hong Kong and Geneva, working as a portfolio manager, analyst and investment specialist for a number of its active equity ranges, and previously as a hedge fund advisor.
Omar is a CFA and CAIA charterholder and holds a M.Sc. Economics from the University of Surrey, and a B.A. Economics from the American University of Beirut.
Matias Rubiolo
Business Development Adviser, Luxembourg for Finance
Contact:
Matias Rubiolo is an Adviser for Business Development at Luxembourg for Finance (LFF).
Matias role is to advise LFF and its stakeholders on the strategic orientation of the financial centre, specialising on the alternative assets side. He also advises financial services companies looking to develop their cross-border businesses via Luxembourg and on synergy creation with other key financial centres, with a focus on Iberia & Latin America.
Prior to joining LFF, Matias worked at PwC serving clients in the global asset and wealth management sector and at the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the Corporate Lending for Asia, LatAm & Sub-Saharan Africa unit. He is a Certified Public Accountant graduated from Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) and holds an MBA from Southampton Business School (UK).
Michael Stewart
Head of Equities Business Strategy, Amundi
Contact:
Michael Stewart, Head of Equities Business Strategy, leads the Product and Markets Strategy function for Amundi’s €230bn+ equity ETF range, covering the full offering spanning from hyper efficient core building blocks to differentiated and outcome-oriented satellite strategies. This includes a strong focus on Amundi’s market leading swap-based ETF platform, alongside Amundi’s capabilities in physically replicated ETFs.
Prior to this role, Michael led the Index Investment Specialist function for the Asset Management division at L&G, and previously the ETF Product Development function at Invesco, all based in London.
Michael holds an MBA from Bayes Business School, University of London, and is a CFA Charterholder.
Vincenzo Vedda
Chief Investment Officer, Member of the Executive Board, DWS Group
Contact:
Vincenzo Vedda was appointed as a member of the Executive Board of DWS Group in August 2025. As Chief Investment Officer he is responsible for the Liquid Portfolio Management (Active and Passive Portfolio Management), Trading, the Chief Investment Office and Economic Research.
Vincenzo joined DWS in 2013 with nine years of industry experience. Prior to his appointment as Chief Investment Officer in November 2024, he served as the Global Head of Portfolio Management – Public Markets, overseeing the Liquid Portfolio Management (Active and Passive) as well as Trading.
Before this, Vincenzo was the Head of Client Coverage EMEA (ex Germany and Austria) and the Global Head of Wholesale and Digital Coverage. Earlier, he was the Global Head of Trading at DWS.
Prior to joining DWS, Vincenzo worked in various roles within the equity division of Morgan Stanley in London and Frankfurt, most recently covering key institutional clients.
Vincenzo holds a degree in International Business Administration from the International Business School in Bad Nauheim, Germany.
Douglass Welch
Managing Director, Pemberton Asset Management
Contact:
Douglass Welch is Managing Director, responsible for the activity of Pemberton Asset Management S.A., the Luxembourg AIFM and the Portfolio Management Conducting Officer. He is a member of the Investment Committee responsible for all investment activity. He serves as a member of the ALFI Strategy Board and is actively engaged in sub-committees and industry forums. He also holds several non-executive Board mandates for major corporates and sits on several Fund GP Boards.
Prior to joining Pemberton in 2018, Douglass’s career was forged on the trading floors of London. He has broad product trading experience across the major assets classes resulting from his focus on derivatives/arbitrage. He is a seasoned alumni of UniCredit, Citigroup and Salomon Brothers.
Douglass holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
