Lestrade

Wishing our clients, colleagues, and their families a bright and meaningful Christmas!🎄 At Lestrade, we celebrated the festive season with a touch of creativity and togetherness—a natural Christmas decorations workshop paired with a glass of champagne to toast to a wonderful year and an exciting year ahead. ✨ #christmas2024 #festiveseason #kerstmis

What a fascinating reminder of the Dutch financial legacy! This 400-year-old bond still paying interest shows how durable true innovation can be. With today’s focus on sustainability, technology, and impact investing, the Netherlands could once again lead the way—building tomorrow’s lasting financial innovations that stand the test of time.

📢 Market Update: EY is cutting 150 senior roles - What Does It Mean for the Industry? This news has been circulating for some time. EY is cutting 150 senior consultants roles, particularly the high-paying ones. This is more than just another headline—it's a signal of the shifting landscape in consulting and professional services. From an operational due diligence perspective, here’s what this tells us about the industry and its future: 1️⃣ Rising Costs of Operations: Consulting and management firms face increasing costs, including salaries, which squeeze the profits margins. Consulting firms are feeling the heat to justify their price tags while balancing internal cost pressures. 2️⃣ Increased Use of Technology: The adoption of AI and other digital tools is reshaping the consulting landscape. Traditional consulting services can be scaled without a large workforce, putting pressure on firms to adapt their offerings. 3️⃣ The Rise of Niche, Specialized Firms: Clients are no longer looking for broad, one-size-fits-all consulting advice. They increasingly seek specialized, actionable solutions that address unique challenges. This is particularly evident in domains that require taliored insight and deep expertise. Smaller, specialized teams or niche providers are emerging as the winners in this shift, as scale and generalization are increasingly automated. 4️⃣ Overcapacity Post-Boom: Many consulting firms ramped up hiring during the pandemic and post-pandemic boom to handle a surge in demand for transformation projects. As demand normalizes or declines, some firms are left overstaffed, particularly at higher pay grades. At Lestrade we see this as a sign that consulting is shifting from being about scale and prestige to being about adaptability and deep specialization. Clients want consultants who can step in with tailored expertise, provide insights no automation tool can, and solve their most complex, nuanced challenges. What’s your perspective? Are we witnessing a reshaping of the consulting landscape? Let’s discuss in the comments!

✨ Storytime: Why Operational Due Diligence is Like Preparing for a Marathon At first glance, running a marathon and conducting Operational Due Diligence (ODD) might seem worlds apart. But when you look closer, both are journeys that require meticulous preparation, endurance, and a strategic mindset. Let's explore how these two challenging endeavors are more alike than you might think. 1️⃣ Preparation is Key: Just as a marathon runner spends months training, selecting the right gear, and planning their strategy, effective ODD begins with thorough preparation. This involves understanding the investment strategy and nature of the market infrastructure, identifying potential risks, and assembling the right team to delve deep into the details. 2️⃣ Endurance and Persistence: A marathon tests a runner's endurance over 26.2 miles, requiring persistence through fatigue and obstacles. Similarly, ODD is a comprehensive process that demands sustained attention and persistence to uncover hidden risks that aren't immediately apparent. 3️⃣ Attention to Detail: Missing a small detail—a slight change in terrain or an overlooked hydration stop—can significantly impact a runner's performance. In ODD, overlooking minor operational risks can lead to major financial consequences. Every detail counts. 4️⃣ Adaptability: Marathon runners must adapt to unexpected weather changes or unforeseen course challenges. In ODD, adaptability is crucial when dealing with evolving regulations, market conditions, or new information uncovered during the due diligence process. 5️⃣ The Right Support System: Behind every successful marathon runner is a team of coaches, nutritionists, and supporters. In ODD, having a skilled team like Lestrade provides the expertise and support necessary to navigate complex operational landscapes effectively. 6️⃣ Crossing the Finish Line: The exhilaration of crossing the marathon finish line mirrors the confidence investors feel when thorough ODD is completed. It signifies that all the hard work and dedication have paid off, setting the stage for successful investment decisions. Just like training for a marathon, successful investing requires dedication and the right guidance. Let Lestrade be the support system that helps you cross the finish line with confidence. Reach out to our team to learn how we can assist in your Operational Due Diligence journey. #OperationalDueDiligence #MarathonMindset #RiskManagement #InvestmentJourney #LestradeInsights #InstitutionalInvesting

📘 Expert Insight: Top 5 Questions Institutional Investors Should Ask Their Asset Managers ⬇️ As an institutional investor, ensuring that your asset managers operate with the highest standards is crucial for safeguarding your investments. By asking these critical questions, you not only protect your investments but also build a partnership based on transparency and trust. At Lestrade, we specialize in providing comprehensive Operational Due Diligence (ODD) services to help institutional investors make informed decisions. Our expertise ensures that you have all the insights you need to navigate the complexities of asset management. #OperationalDueDiligence #InstitutionalInvesting #RiskManagement #ESG #Cybersecurity #AssetManagement

Weer een beauty van Het Financieele Dagblad door Sonny Motké en Bart Mos. Als ik dergelijke berichten lees, dan denk ik: leren mensen dan nou nooit?. Hoeveel red flags moeten er wapperen: 1. 22 jarige fondsmanager 2. 8% rendement per maand. PER MAAND! 3. Geen AFM vergunning. 4. Toezicht op Vanuatu....(🇻🇺weten mensen waar het ligt?) 5. Volledige controle over beleggingsrekening door manager. 6. Affiliates.... 7. en zo verder.... Opgericht in 2022, 22km vanaf mijn woonadres.

✨Storytime: The Curious Case of Spoofing 🚨Gather around because today we’re delving into the world of spoofing—that cheeky little market abuse tactic where traders play puppeteer with the order book. Think of it as financial Tinder: swipe right (or in this case, make a bid), knowing full well you’re about to ghost everyone. Here's how it goes: 1️⃣ You pile up fake buy or sell orders, creating an illusion of demand or supply. 2️⃣ Other traders, eager to avoid missing out, jump in like it’s a Black Friday sale. 3️⃣ At the perfect moment, poof! You cancel your orders and profit off the frenzy you created. Sounds like a financial soap opera, right? Except the consequences are far from entertaining. Regulators are now cracking down harder than your personal trainer post-holiday season. But here’s the kicker: spoofing isn’t just a case of “bad apples.” It exposes systemic vulnerabilities in how we handle market abuse. For investors, it’s a reminder that operational due diligence isn’t just about balance sheets and ESG—it’s about sniffing out potential foul play in the trading practices of fund managers. 💡 Takeaway for Investors: If your portfolio manager plays with fire, don’t be surprised when they burn your returns. Strong internal controls, regulatory compliance, and robust operational due diligence are your safety net. Remember, markets thrive on trust. Spoofing? That’s just bad manners. #MarketAbuse #Spoofing #OperationalDueDiligence #FinanceWithAStoryTwist

What makes a great team? At Lestrade, we believe in building teams that are diverse across many dimensions. One important dimension is individual strengths. Achieving the right balance between overlapping strengths and complementary abilities is essential. Looking to discover the key strengths needed to build a winning Diligence team? 👇🏻

📢 Market Update: SFDR Sanctions Spark a Compliance Wake-Up Call The CSSF has issued its first fine related to the SFDR, sanctioning Aviva Investors Luxembourg for breaches identified in five of its funds categorised as Article 8 under the EU SFDR (€56,500). Read the key breaches in the comments. Regulators are sending a clear message: ESG governance isn’t just a checkbox—it’s foundational. Why This Matters: European regulators are intensifying SFDR supervision, with Norway’s FSA grading 87 actors on disclosure performance, France’s AMF demanding remediation for breaches, and Italy’s CONSOB calling for clearer and more concise sustainable finance disclosures. For those navigating SFDR Article 8 and 9 funds, these developments highlight the importance of thorough operational due diligence. Investors need to go beyond surface-level ESG claims to assess the governance, oversight, and alignment of sustainability frameworks. Through our Sustainability Operational Risk Assessment (SORA), we at Lestrade empower investors with insights to evaluate fund managers’ commitments under the SFDR and with actionable engagement strategies. #SFDR #SORA #OperationalDueDiligence #ESGCompliance #IndustryUpdate

Ever discussed market abuse offences during a due diligence review and come short of examples? Want them? Here they are 👇🏻 1. Spoofing 2. Layering 3. Pump and Dump 4. Wash Trading 5. Banging the Close 6. Front Running 7. Quote Stuffing 8. Painting the Tape 9. Churning 10. Cornering the Market 11. Bear Raiding 12. Ramping 13. Scalping 14. Capping 15. Momentum Ignition 16. Boiler Room Operations 17. Marking the Open 18. Ping Orders Want to receive all definitions and market impact per offence? Tag yourself in the comments and I will get in touch.