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Luxembourg, 30 June 2021 – As of August 2021, Carsten Gerlinger will hold the position of Managing Director and Head of Asset Management of Moventum Asset Management S.A.. (Moventum AM). He has almost 30 years’ experience in portfolio management and has been co-designing the Moventum Group's investment products for six years. Needless to say then that he is very familiar with processes and client requirements. The interview below provides a more personal introduction to the man who has taken over the baton from the now retired Michael Jensen.

Carsten Gerlinger has worked for, among others, Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank, Commerzbank and Quint:Essence Capital S.A.. He started his career in 1987 as an apprentice banker and shortly afterwards was hired as a member of Deutsche Bank's supra-regional support group. Gerlinger is a certified DVFA Financial Analyst (CEFA), a bank management expert and a banking specialist. He has been working on the financial markets from Luxembourg for 27 years and since 2015 for Moventum.

What makes Moventum Asset Management stand out for you?

I have now been with Moventum for six years and I felt very well accepted into the team here from day one. What I personally have always appreciated is the flat hierarchy in the company: Everyone can take part in discussions and convince the other side with good arguments. The short decision-making processes and the employees' ability to act also create a lot of added value – for the colleagues as well as for the client. In recent years, we have therefore succeeded in achieving very good performance results for our customers – despite very difficult market phases. We shall continue to build on this.

What do you find most fascinating about the job of an asset manager?

It is important for asset managers to make the right decisions for their clients, even in unknown situations. First of all, they have to gather information, analyse it thoroughly and then decide. On the one hand, opportunities must be exploited but on the other we must also consider the risks. Over the years, the job remains very interesting, as one is constantly confronted with new, often significant challenges, the consequences of which cannot even be imagined at their outset. Take the bursting of the dotcom bubble in 2000, the terrorist attacks in 2001, the financial crisis, Covid19; there are no standard recipes or blueprints for such events. Dealing with such circumstances requires many years of experience in the industry and the concentrated expertise of the team.

How do you feel about stock market wisdom? What is your favourite saying?

It certainly doesn't make sense to base your investment strategy on such stock market wisdom – even if with hindsight one or the other occasionally proves to be correct. That said, the following saying is reliable and is therefore my favourite: “October: This is one of the most dangerous months to speculate with shares. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.”

What are the next milestones on the agenda for Moventum AM? What can Moventum clients look forward to?

We already have a very broad product range on which our clients can draw in many ways. For example, our ETF portfolios are relatively new. We celebrated our first birthday with these on 1 April with very good performance results.

A milestone in the company's recent history also took place at the end of May: Moventum gained a global financial investor and significant technological support in ProService Finteco. I am looking forward to seeing what opportunities and new possibilities arise for us through this partnership.

Our primary goal at Moventum AM will continue to be to work together to deliver superior performance results for our clients. We want to support our clients with the best possible service during their advisory meetings.

What are you most looking forward to when the pandemic and the restrictions that come with it are over?

I am not sure if the pandemic will be over so quickly. But we shall be able to deal with this pandemic better in the future – thanks to vaccinations. Certainly, this will also lead to the elimination of many restrictions. Personally, I am looking forward to being able to travel again, visit restaurants and meet friends. In everyday working life, one can finally meet customers in person again, engage in valuable exchanges at customer events and, of course, simply spend time with work colleagues over lunch.