Allianz Global Investors received a greenlight from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) last month to launch seven mutual funds in Hong Kong, according to the regulator’s records.
They are the Allianz Cyber Security, Dynamic Income, Emerging Markets SRI Bond, Emerging Markets SRI Corporate Bond, Global Intelligent Cities, Green Bond and the Pet and Animal Wellbeing funds.
The products were also registered for retail sale in Singapore last year, according to data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Most curious is the Pet and Animal Wellbeing Fund. In Hong Kong, it is the only fund that has a focus on the pet and animal wellbeing theme, SFC records show.
The pet strategy
The fund, which invests in global equity markets with a focus on companies that are engaged in the area of animal wellbeing and pet supplies, is managed by Andreas Fruschki, Allianz GI’s head of thematic investing, according to the firm’s website. He also manages the firm’s global water strategy and the Thematica fund.
The Pet and Animal Wellbeing Fund was first launched in Europe in January last year, according to its fund factsheet. As of the end of November, the product had assets of around €100m ($112m).
The primary sectors that the fund is looking at include the pet healthcare sector, the consumer sector, such as those that sell pet foods, and insurance companies that provide pet insurance, Holger Wehner, head of equity product specialists in Europe, said in a video posted on the firm’s website.
The Allianz Pet and Animal Wellbeing Fund
Wehner believes that the pet theme is resilient against economic fluctuations.
“The big driver behind this is demographic change. This is about the ageing population, which is likely to have more pets. This is also about millennials, who are more prone to have pets. But it is also about emerging markets, where with a certain level of development, you are also likely to adopt a pet.”
Invesco’s FMPs
Separately, Invesco also received approvals from the SFC to launch two fixed maturity products (FMPs) to retail investors in Hong Kong. They are the Invesco Asian Bond Fixed Maturity Fund 2022 – II and the Invesco Asian Bond Fixed Maturity Fund 2022 – III.
The first version of the Asian bond FMP was launched in October. In total, the firm has launched five FMPs since June.
Invesco has launched different versions of its FMPs as each version may vary depending on the requirements of the firm’s distribution partners.
FMPs tend to have a small number of distribution partners, Terry Pan, Invesco’s CEO for Greater China, Southeast Asia and Korea, explained previously.
“The marketing for FMPs is different from how we normally market a mutual fund in Hong Kong. When you market a traditional fund, you have multiple distributors.
“But when you are creating a FMP portfolio, it really depends on the requirements that the banking clients have in mind, and if there are other distribution partners that happen to like the strategy, then we can add them on,” he explained.
The requirements from banks include the product risk profile.
“Some of them want a high-yielding product, so they are aware and willing to take on credit risk. For some, they want only investment grade and will specify which credit ratings the fund should invest in.”
