Serge de Cillia, François Chauvet, Luc Neuberg and Michael Derwael, members of the GFR board of directors. Neuberg and Derwael are also chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the Alrim board. Photo: Alrim/GFR/Christophe Rabinovici

Serge de Cillia, François Chauvet, Luc Neuberg and Michael Derwael, members of the GFR board of directors. Neuberg and Derwael are also chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the Alrim board. Photo: Alrim/GFR/Christophe Rabinovici

By launching their own training institute, Global Fund Risk (GFR) and Alrim aim to promote a risk management culture in Luxembourg and globally in the investment fund sector, a sector now deemed systemic.

Since it was founded in 1997, the Luxembourg Association of Risk Management (Association luxembourgeoise de risk management or Alrim) has aimed to increase the culture of risk and risk management in Luxembourg. “And this applies to all sectors of the economy,” says its chair, . Because Luxembourg is such a hotbed of risk management activity, Global Fund Risk (GFR)--a non-profit association--was founded in August 2023 at the instigation of Alrim, with the aim of bringing together fund industry players dealing in risk management. In Luxembourg and beyond, GFR offers certifications and aims to be a forum for exchanging and promoting best practice in risk management for investment funds.

Risk Academy is an extension of this initiative, a new stage of the rocket dedicated to training, following the publication by McGraw Hill in 2023 of the manual Risk Management for Investment Funds, a detailed description of best risk management practices in the investment fund sector. “The idea of creating a certification or courses geared towards risk management for investment funds has been in gestation for around ten years,” said Neuberg and Michael Derwael, members of the boards of both GFR and Alrim, and founders of Risk Academy.

Focus on the holistic

Risk Academy is not an institution as such, but rather a brand that brings together the educational initiatives of Alrim and GFR. The demand is certainly there. “The field of risk management is evolving rapidly, with the emergence of new risks--liquidity, sustainability, model risk, ICT--and a constant need to update knowledge,” explain Neuberg and Derwael. As a result, the profile of risk managers has changed considerably over the last 20 years.

“We’re looking less for technicians than for people with a holistic vision and the ability to link the different areas of risk,” say the pair. This demand for versatility stems from one of the Luxembourg financial centre’s specific features when it comes to investment funds: “unlike a silo approach, Luxembourg favours a cross-functional model where risk managers must understand and link all areas of risk.”

“Made in Luxembourg”

The market for risk management training in the investment fund sector is set to grow strongly over the next few years. Why? “The attention paid to the risks associated with investment funds is relatively new, due to their volume and growing role in financial intermediation,” say Neuberg and Derwael.

The first accredited courses from theRisk Academy will start at the end of March and the beginning of April. These will be fundamental preparatory courses for the GFR certification exam. They will cover the following aspects: the investment fund environment and framework, market risk, liquidity risk, credit and counterparty risk, operational risk, sustainability risk and IT risk. “The fundamentals,” says Neuberg. The courses will take the form of face-to-face basic or master classes. They’ll be held in Luxembourg for the time being, but may spread to the world’s main financial centres, “[as we’ll be] taking advantage of the worldwide recognition of the risk management culture in Luxembourg,” says Neuberg.

Find out more about Risk Academy .

This article in French.

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