Four equity ETFs and four equity mutual funds are among the 10 funds that have seen the biggest outflows in 2017.
Hong Kong-domiciled mutual funds had aggregated net outflows of $1.85bn in the first 10 months of 2017, data from Morningstar shows.
By comparison, for the full year 2016 they had aggregated net inflows of $327m.
The $1.85bn figure is derived from 171 funds that had net inflows of $8.29bn in aggregate, and 151 with net outflows of $10.14bn.
Much of the outflows can be attributed to profit taking, as the markets rallied throughout the year. Despite the net aggregate flows being negative, the total AUM of Hong Kong-domiciled funds grew in 2017 to around $98.5bn at the end of October, up from $85.2bn during the same period in 2016.
Many of the top 10 funds that saw the biggest outflows in 2017 have nonetheless delivered returns during the year. Six of the 10 had a higher AUM in October 2017 than in December 2016, despite the net outflows.
Biggest outflows 2017
| Fund |
Net assets Dec 2016 |
Net Assets Oct 2017 |
Estimated outflows (Jan-Oct) |
YTD Return |
| Hang Seng H-Share ETF |
5.78bn |
4.79bn |
2.17bn |
25.15% |
| Tracker Fund of Hong Kong |
10.38bn |
11.84bn (Sep’17) |
1.35bn |
27.42% |
| Value Partners High-Dividend Stocks |
3.5bn |
3.33bn |
1.06bn |
28.30% |
| iShares FTSE A50 China ETF |
3.72bn |
3.93bn |
910m |
38.14% |
| HSBC Asian Bond Fund |
2.19bn |
1.87bn |
392m |
5.37% |
| Value Partners Classic |
1.41bn |
1.56bn |
389m |
41.94% |
| Hang Seng ETF |
5.67bn |
6.97bn |
381m |
31.81% |
| JP Morgan Global Bond Fund |
853m |
490m |
376m |
2.37% |
| JP Morgan Asean Fund |
1.59bn |
1.62bn |
311m |
22.82% |
| JP Morgan Asia Equity Dividend Fund |
1.65bn |
1.73bn |
209m |
17.96% |
Data: FE, Morningstar, in US dollars, 31 October 2017
Equity funds domiciled in Hong Kong dominate the list, as investors cashed in their profits and invested them in fixed income and mixed-asset funds.
In the overall mutual fund industry in Hong Kong, fixed income remains popular. Assets in fixed income funds increased year-on-year by 19.7% to $552.8bn at the end of September, according to a recent Securities and Futures Commission report.
