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Day: 12 June 2026

Global investment leaders to gather in Monaco for Sohn Investment Conference

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/06/2026

Some of the world’s most respected hedge fund managers, investors and financial strategists will converge on Monaco on 24th June for the sixth edition of the Sohn Monaco Investment Conference, a unique event that combines market insights with a mission to advance paediatric cancer research.

Held under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II at the Yacht Club de Monaco, the annual conference has established itself as one of Europe’s most influential gatherings for the alternative investment community. The event brings together leading hedge fund managers, portfolio managers and institutional investors who share their highest-conviction investment ideas while raising funds to support paediatric cancer research, treatment and care.

The Monaco edition forms part of the global Sohn Conference network, which spans major financial centres including New York, London, Hong Kong, Montreal and San Francisco. Founded in memory of Wall Street professional Ira Sohn, who died from cancer at the age of 29, the conference series has become renowned for attracting some of the investment industry’s most respected voices while supporting life-changing medical research.

Newly announced speakers join impressive line-up

Among the latest additions to the 2026 programme are Jean-Luc Allavena, chairman of Atlantys in partnership with Apollo, and Kaspar Hållsten, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Rhenman & Partners.

They join an international roster of investment professionals that includes Fawaz Chaudhry of Horizon Global Partners, Maggie Fanari of J. Rothschild Capital Management, Célia Fseil of Candriam, Vincent Ijaouane of Vigama Capital, Per Lekander of Clean Energy Transition, Angelo Meda of Banor, Harrison Moot of Sandstone, Alison Porter of Janus Henderson and Moni Sternbach of Haverstock Capital.

As with Sohn conferences around the world, speakers are expected to share original investment ideas and market perspectives, offering attendees direct insight into the thinking behind some of the industry’s most successful investment strategies.

Finance and healthcare leaders take the stage

The conference will also welcome several distinguished guests, including Monaco’s Minister of Finance and Economy, Frédéric Cottalorda, and Jean-François Peyron, research director at INSERM C3M.

Their participation reflects the conference’s dual focus on finance and philanthropy. While investors gather to discuss opportunities across global markets, the event’s ultimate objective remains supporting advances in paediatric cancer treatment and research through the work of the Sohn Conference Foundation.

Investing for impact

What distinguishes Sohn Monaco from many traditional investment conferences is its format. Rather than presenting fund performance or corporate marketing messages, speakers reveal specific investment ideas and the research behind them, giving attendees a rare opportunity to understand how leading investors identify opportunities and assess risk.

Since its launch in New York in 1995, the Sohn Conference Foundation has expanded into a global platform that combines education, networking and philanthropy. Today, its events continue to unite the international financial community around a shared goal: using the power of finance to support breakthroughs in healthcare and improve outcomes for children facing serious illnesses.

The 2026 Sohn Monaco Investment Conference will take place on Wednesday 24th June at the Yacht Club de Monaco, with registration opening at 12.30pm before an afternoon of presentations and discussions, followed by a networking cocktail reception.

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Photo: Prince Albert II at the 2025 edition of SOHN Monaco

Monaco adopts major disability reform and grants legal recognition to family carers

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/06/2026

Monaco’s National Council has adopted two landmark laws strengthening protections for disabled people and formally recognising family carers for the first time, in what the government has described as a major new step in the Principality’s social policy.

Passed during a public session on Thursday 11th June, the legislation introduces significant changes to Monaco’s disability framework while creating a dedicated legal status for family members who care for elderly or dependent relatives. The reforms build on a series of measures introduced in recent years, including the government’s Handipact disability strategy and changes to disability benefits aimed at strengthening financial independence and inclusion.

End of the automatic transition to old-age status

One of the most significant changes concerns the long-standing rule that automatically transferred disabled people from disability status to old-age status at the age of 60.

The government argued that the system no longer reflected the reality of many situations, often disrupting personalised care plans and creating barriers to continued recognition of disability later in life. Under the new legislation, responsibility will now fall to the disability assessment commission to determine whether disability or age-related loss of autonomy is the predominant factor in each individual case.

The reform also broadens access to financial support designed to compensate for the daily effects of disability, extending assistance to individuals who previously did not qualify for coverage despite facing substantial costs linked to their condition.

New support for parents of disabled children

The law further introduces a new allowance for parents who are forced to leave employment in order to care for a disabled child.

While Monaco already provides financial assistance and personalised support plans for children with disabilities, the government acknowledged that some families continue to face situations in which one parent has little choice but to stop working. The new measure is intended to provide income support in those circumstances while also protecting future pension rights through state-funded retirement contributions.

“When a parent is forced to stop working to look after their disabled child, it is a failure — a failure of the state’s support network for these families,” Christophe Robino, Government Councillor-Minister for Health and Social Affairs, told the National Council. “That is why we are putting in place this new provision: to mitigate without incentivising.”

Family carers gain legal status

The second law establishes a formal legal status for family carers, recognising the role played by relatives who support elderly or dependent family members at home.

Until now, this role had no dedicated legal recognition under Monegasque law despite its growing importance in an ageing society. The new framework grants carers a series of rights intended to help them balance their caring responsibilities with their professional and personal lives.

The government has presented the measure as the foundation for further reforms to come, including a future respite system that would allow carers to take temporary breaks from their responsibilities while ensuring continuity of care.

“The goal today is above all to allow the family carer to fulfil their role without it affecting their health, their social connections or their future,” Robino said during the debate.

Responding to demographic realities

The reforms arrive as Monaco continues to grapple with the implications of having one of the world’s oldest populations. According to the latest figures from IMSEE, life expectancy in the Principality stands at around 87 years, among the highest globally.

Against that backdrop, the government has described the adoption of the two laws as an important milestone in the continued development of Monaco’s social model, strengthening support for vulnerable residents while recognising the crucial contribution of those who care for them on a daily basis.

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Photo source: National Council of Monaco

Monaco presidency hosts Council of Europe justice ministers for money laundering talks

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/06/2026

Justice ministers from all 46 Council of Europe member states will gather in Strasbourg on Tuesday 16th June for an informal conference on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, convened under Monaco’s current presidency of the Committee of Ministers.

The meeting, which will be opened by Monaco’s Secretary of State for Justice Samuel Vuelta Simon alongside Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset, focuses on strengthening the capacity of national judicial systems to respond to financial crime at a time when criminal networks are increasingly exploiting digital technology to conceal and move illicit funds.

Less than 2% of criminal proceeds confiscated

The scale of the problem is illustrated by a single figure: less than 2% of the proceeds of crime are currently subject to effective confiscation in Europe. Criminal networks and other actors are using globalisation and digitalisation to hide illicit assets worth several billion euros, circumvent international sanctions, and fund interference operations — with growing use of crypto-assets, decentralised finance, advanced digital payment systems and artificial intelligence making detection and prosecution increasingly complex.

The conference will address the gap between the legal framework that exists at pan-European level — including the Council of Europe’s Warsaw Convention on laundering, seizure and confiscation of criminal assets, and its new additional protocol specifically targeting criminal asset recovery — and the concrete results being achieved within national justice systems. Despite broadly harmonised international standards, the challenge remains translating those standards into effective investigations, successful prosecutions and actual confiscation.

Monaco’s role in the presidency

Monaco currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, and the Strasbourg conference is among the key events of that term. The timing is notable: Monaco adopted its own 2026–2028 anti-corruption strategy earlier this month, itself developed in response to recommendations from the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body GRECO.

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Photo credit: Christian Lue, Unsplash