Institutional investors are seeing growing demand for legally compliant, transparent and investable onshore structures for assets previously held internationally or in cross-border arrangements. “Regulation – and even more so investors’ own need for security – is prompting many institutions to focus clearly on established European legal frameworks”, says Daniel Knoblach, Board Member of Super Global Services SA. “We therefore expect 2026 to be the year in which complex asset set-ups are systematically transformed into fully regulated vehicles within the European Union.”
Institutional investors – including insurers, pension funds, occupational pension schemes and regulated asset managers – are under increasing pressure to align their portfolios with tighter regulatory, accounting and governance requirements. “Many existing structures, especially those with an international or historically offshore background, only meet these requirements to a limited extent or at the cost of significant operational effort”, Knoblach points out. “We have been observing a clear shift in preferences towards onshore solutions for some time now.” Rather than regulatory grey areas, investors are looking for robust, transparent and audit-ready structures that are sustainable in the long term and scalable at institutional level.
This strategic approach consciously distances itself from traditional offshore models. “The objective is not regulatory arbitrage, but the consistent use of tried-and-tested EU frameworks”, Knoblach explains. This helps address growing sensitivity around reputational risk, tax uncertainty and regulatory opacity. “In Luxembourg in particular, but increasingly also in Ireland, the conditions are excellent for developing such products”, he adds.
The focus is on converting international or cross-border asset arrangements into fully regulated European vehicles. “Luxembourg compartments and comparable Irish structures are used in particular, as they allow risks and assets to be clearly segregated in legal and economic terms”, says Knoblach. This segregation creates transparency at the level of individual investments and facilitates both risk management and reporting to regulators and investors.
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A key advantage of these structures lies in their bankability, custody suitability and audit compliance. “Embedding them in recognised European legal forms creates products that meet the requirements of credit institutions, auditors and institutional investment committees”, Knoblach notes. This opens up additional financing options and enhances the liquidity and strategic flexibility of the underlying assets. Luxembourg and Ireland are regarded not only as stable regulatory jurisdictions, but also as recognised onshore locations. “This combination of legal certainty, expertise and market acceptance is a decisive factor for institutional investors when structuring and allocating capital”, says Knoblach.
These solutions are not confined to individual asset classes. They can accommodate real assets, capital-market strategies and selected digital applications within clearly defined regulatory frameworks. “This enables investors to diversify their portfolios without taking on unnecessary regulatory or operational risk”, Knoblach says. “Both Luxembourg and Irish law allow existing and new investment approaches to be placed in structures that are compatible with established governance, risk and compliance systems.”
For institutional investors, this offers the opportunity to future-proof existing assets. In light of the growing importance of transparent investment reporting, the trend towards European onshore structures is likely to gain further momentum in 2026.