The Power of Decisive Action
Success takes decisive action. As Rene Beltjens, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Alter Domus, explains, that applies as much to nations and their subsidies as it does to investment funds.
A Luxembourg Unicorn
Alter Domus made history last year when they secured $5.3 billion in investment from Sinwen, making them one of the most remarkable companies in Luxembourg. “The activity of Alter Domus is centred around alternative investment funds,” Beltjens explains. “In the alternative world, we are specialized in private equity funds, real estate funds and depth and capital markets, not doing any kind of hedge funds.” This allowed the company to carve out a distinct niche, administering not only funds but also special purpose companies used in acquisitions. Vertical integration lets it serve clients at different levels within its core business.
Learning Over Time
This strategy was developed through experience. “We started from the administration of special purpose companies,” Beltjens says. “But very early on we decided in a defensive and offensive move that we needed also to do the administration of the funds themselves.” This led to the company’s vertical model, serving the same clients up and down an extended value chain. The timing of this move in 2008-9 was critical. “We could have said, OK, let’s wait to see how things are going. I’m convinced that we would then have been too late.” The company has made similarly bold moves since, such as extending into the US in 2016-17 and acquiring Courtland only a year later. It’s driven by a culture of efficiency. Meetings are short, people are on time, decisions are quickly implemented. This allows decisive moves like investing in tech company Easy Whiz, then selling it to competitors and turning it into a client.
“We could have said, OK, let’s wait to see how things are going. I’m convinced that we would then have been too late.”
Using the Past to Guide the Future
Beltjens notes how fortunes rise and fall through history, as happened to the Walloon region in his native Belgium, a global innovator only 150 years ago. “Just because Luxembourg is a fantastic place to live today doesn’t mean it will be ten or twenty years down the road.” In a world moving ever faster, the right decisions are needed to secure the country’s future. For him, that includes focusing on the energy sector, replicating how Great Britain powered its industrial revolution. “Look at what is happening in the US, with Google, Meta, Amazon, they are going for nuclear power because artificial intelligence is consuming a lot.” To achieve this means subsidies to develop technology such as small nuclear reactors. It could give Luxembourg the power it needs to compete globally, the sort of decisive action through which Beltjens has set Alter Domus up for success.
