The report polled 621 firms, including 45 banks, 555 licensed corporations and 21 insurers.
As a whole, the fund management business, comprised of asset management, private banking and fund advisory but excluding real estate investment trusts (REITs), shrank 1.62% to HK$17.2trn in 2015, after a record high of HK$17.5trn a year ago.
| HK$ trn | 2015 | 2014 | growth |
| Asset Management | 12.3 | 12.8 | -4% |
| Private banking | 3.7 | 3.1 | +18.4% |
| Fund advisory | 1.3 | 1.6 | -21% |
| Overall fund management business | 17.2 | 17.4 | -1.6% |
Figures in Hong Kong dollars. Source: SFC
“This decrease is the result of a drop in asset prices which contributed to a reduction in assets under management as well as organisational adjustments reported by a few respondents in the fund advisory segment,” the report explained.
“However, respondents who expanded their business in Asia, in particular in the mainland, reported fund inflows from this region which partially offset the decreases,” it added.
Investments sourced from local investors rose 6.8% to HK$5.4trn, while those from non-Hong Kong investors shrank 5% to HK$11.8trn.
Meanwhile, although private banks recorded a sharp growth, private client funds dropped 25.3% to HK$1.1trn.
Source of funds
| HK$ trn | 2015 | 2014 | Growth |
| Institutional funds | 3.3 | 3.4 | -4.3% |
| SFC-authorised retail funds | 1.5 | 1.8 | -14.2% |
| Private client funds | 1.1 | 1.5 | -25.3% |
| Other funds (overseas retail funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and insurance portfolios) |
4.3 | 4.3 | +0.5% |
Selected source of funds only. Source: SFC
The number of corporations licensed for asset management in the SAR grew by 10.1% to 1,135 in 2015. Among the 104 newly-licensed corporations, 20 were from the mainland and 8 were from overseas.
The total number of SFC-authorised unit trusts and mutual funds increased by 4.3% to 2,133.
Those with a Hong Kong-domicile were up 10.4% (62) year-on-year to 656.
Among the new funds, 30 were launched by mainland-related fund groups, the SFC said.
The Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) scheme was launched in July last year, and the SFC said it will “continue to explore similar cooperation arrangements with other jurisdictions.
“Other initiatives include introducing a new legal and regulatory framework for open-ended fund companies and developing online and alternative fund distribution platforms,” the report said.
The annual survey has been conducted by the SFC since 1999 to collect information and data on the general state of affairs of the fund management industry in Hong Kong.
