Key Takeaways
- • LPEA Insights 2026, themed "Private Capital at the Crossroads", drew more than 1,900 registrations, a record for the ninth edition of the conference.
- • LPEA president Hind El Gaidi said the ten largest private equity funds accounted for approximately 50% of capital raised in 2025, widening the gap between large platforms and smaller managers.
- • Alfi figures show Luxembourg alternative investment fund AUM rose from €2.6trn to €3.1trn in 2025, growth of roughly 20%; total Luxembourg-domiciled fund assets reached €9.065trn in June 2026.
- • Finance Minister Gilles Roth cited a carried interest regime change, an improved international talent framework and a lower corporate tax rate as measures to attract investment teams and decision-making functions.
- • El Gaidi argued Luxembourg must move beyond fund domiciliation toward designing, distributing and operating private capital products, and warned that "what got us here will not get us there."
Summary
Luxembourg's private capital industry is entering a new phase, with the Grand Duchy needing to show it can attract investment teams, develop innovative products and meet more demanding investors. This was the central message from the opening of LPEA Insights 2026, according to the event's coverage in Paperjam.lu. The conference attracted more than 1,900 registrations, a record for the event.
LPEA president Hind El Gaidi said fundraising is concentrating among a limited number of private equity managers, with the ten largest funds accounting for approximately 50% of capital raised in 2025. Limited partners are increasingly selective, prioritising consistent performance and the return of capital. El Gaidi said the industry has moved past a period in which growth ambitions and marketing alone could drive fundraising. Service providers, including fund administrators and management companies, face margin pressure as larger platforms bring functions in-house and smaller managers seek institutional-quality services at lower cost.
On the wealth side, El Gaidi cited an intergenerational transfer of approximately $100trn globally, including an estimated $30trn to $40trn in Europe over the coming two decades. She warned against equating wider distribution of private market funds with democratisation, stating, "That is not democratisation. That's distribution." Real democratisation, in her view, requires products designed for private wealth investors, with liquidity constraints addressed through appropriate structures rather than by making illiquid assets appear liquid.
Finance Minister Gilles Roth, addressing the conference by recorded video, said alternative fund assets under management rose from €2.6trn to €3.1trn in 2025 according to Alfi, and that total assets in Luxembourg-domiciled funds, including UCITS and alternative funds, reached €9.065trn in June 2026 based on combined CSSF and BCL data. Roth said the government aims to attract investment professionals and decision-making functions, citing changes to the carried interest regime, improved talent attraction and a reduced corporate tax rate. Stéphane Pesch, LPEA CEO, separately outlined uncertainty from geopolitics, regulation, inflation, interest rates, technology and climate change, and flagged AI as a potential driver of change in fund servicing.
LPEA president Hind El Gaidi said fundraising is concentrating among a limited number of private equity managers, with the ten largest funds accounting for approximately 50% of capital raised in 2025. Limited partners are increasingly selective, prioritising consistent performance and the return of capital. El Gaidi said the industry has moved past a period in which growth ambitions and marketing alone could drive fundraising. Service providers, including fund administrators and management companies, face margin pressure as larger platforms bring functions in-house and smaller managers seek institutional-quality services at lower cost.
On the wealth side, El Gaidi cited an intergenerational transfer of approximately $100trn globally, including an estimated $30trn to $40trn in Europe over the coming two decades. She warned against equating wider distribution of private market funds with democratisation, stating, "That is not democratisation. That's distribution." Real democratisation, in her view, requires products designed for private wealth investors, with liquidity constraints addressed through appropriate structures rather than by making illiquid assets appear liquid.
Finance Minister Gilles Roth, addressing the conference by recorded video, said alternative fund assets under management rose from €2.6trn to €3.1trn in 2025 according to Alfi, and that total assets in Luxembourg-domiciled funds, including UCITS and alternative funds, reached €9.065trn in June 2026 based on combined CSSF and BCL data. Roth said the government aims to attract investment professionals and decision-making functions, citing changes to the carried interest regime, improved talent attraction and a reduced corporate tax rate. Stéphane Pesch, LPEA CEO, separately outlined uncertainty from geopolitics, regulation, inflation, interest rates, technology and climate change, and flagged AI as a potential driver of change in fund servicing.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.