Tokyo-based Nomura Asset Management has become the best-selling fund manager in Asia-Pacific last year, with $13.9bn in net inflows for the full-year 2019, according to a Broadridge Financial report.
The inflows of Nomura AM were largely driven by Bank of Japan’s ongoing ETF purchases, which is part of the country’s monetary stimulus, explained Yoon Ng, Broadridge’s Singapore-based director for Asia global intelligence.
The report noted that Nomura AM is the only manager to remain in the top 10 rankings from 2018.
“A significant reshuffling of the best-selling managers in Apac took place in 2019 as a result of major outflows from money market funds to the tune of $69bn, the bulk of this stemming from China,” the report said.
Meanwhile, the other fund managers joining the list include two Thai managers, which are Kasikorn Asset Management and SCB Asset Management.
Both firms had huge inflows last year “due to the demand for rollover funds”, Ng said. “These funds are deemed by investors as similar to fixed income deposits as they typically have a maturity date of six months.”
Top 10 best-selling asset managers by net inflows in 2019
| Ranking 2019 | Fund Company Name | 2018 net inflows | 2019 net inflows | Ranking 2018 |
| 1 | Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd | 26.8 | 13.9 | 3 |
| 2 | AEGON-Industrial Fund Management Co., Ltd. | 6.6 | 11.9 | 27 |
| 3 | Fullgoal Fund Management Co. Ltd | 4.6 | 11.6 | 36 |
| 4 | AustralianSuper Pty Ltd | 7.2 | 11.3 | 23 |
| 5 | SBI Ltd | 5.6 | 10.1 | 31 |
| 6 | Kasikorn Asset Management Ltd | 6.5 | 9.9 | 28 |
| 7 | Invesco Great Wall Fund Management Co. Ltd | 12.8 | 9.8 | 13 |
| 8 | SCB Asset Management Company Limited | 6.0 | 8.9 | 30 |
| 9 | Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd | 1.6 | 8.2 | 76 |
| 10 | Harvest Fund Management Company Limited (China) | 11.9 | 7.7 | 15 |
Source: Broadridge
The report also noted that Vanguard is the only global asset manager to make it on the top 10 list in 2019.
“Its passive offerings in Australia [has benefitted] from rising fee pressure following the Royal Commission review,” it said.
Less Chinese managers
Because of the outflows from money market funds, only four of the top 10 best-selling stops were taken by Chinese managers last year. In 2018, nine of the 10 best-selling firms were Chinese firms.
The Chinese managers that fell from the list include China Southern Fund Management, CCB Principal Asset Management, GF Fund Management and China Universal Asset Management.
Ng explained that the four best-selling Chinese managers last year had huge inflows toward their fixed income funds.
Fixed income products were the most popular fund category in China last year, with net inflows of RMB 648.5bn ($92.6bn), according to data from Morningstar Direct. On the flipside, money market funds had net outflows of RMB 714bn.
In addition, five of the top 10 best-selling mutual funds in the whole region are domestic fixed income funds sold in China, according to the Broadridge report.
Top 10 best-selling mutual funds in Asia-Pacific by net inflows
| Fund Name | Fund Market | Investment type | 2019 |
| Nomura Topix Linked Listed Investment | Japan | Equity | 14.7 |
| AustralianSuper Superannuation Balanced | Australia | Mixed Assets | 8.5 |
| Nikko Listed Index Fund TOPIX | Japan | Equity | 6.5 |
| Daiwa Topix Linked Listed Investment | Japan | Equity | 6.1 |
| BOC International HuiJia Regular Open Bond Fund | China | Bond | 5.9 |
| BOC Fenghe Quarterly Interval Bond Sponsored Fund | China | Bond | 5.8 |
| Minsheng Royal ChinaBond 1-3 Year Agricultural Development Bank of China Bond Index Fund | China | Bond | 3.4 |
| China Southern ChinaBond 1-3 Year CDB Bond Index Fund | China | Bond | 3.3 |
| PGSF Global Utilities Equity Fund | Japan | Equity | 3.3 |
| BOC ChinaBond 1-3 Year China Development Bank Bond Index Fund | China | Bond | 2.6 |
Source: Broadridge Financial
“The key reason [for the inflows toward fixed income funds in China] is due to the hunt for yields. With money market fund yields falling, investors looked at other instruments like short-term bond funds and China policy bank loans for better returns,” Ng said.
In total, fixed income funds had net inflows of $255.9bn across the Asia-Pacific, followed by equity funds $37.2bn and mixed asset products $26.2bn.
Net fund flows in Asia-Pacific by asset class
| Fund Investment Type | 2018 | 2019 |
| Bond | 68.1 | 255.9 |
| Equity | 191.2 | 37.2 |
| Mixed Assets | 50.0 | 26.2 |
| Money market | 149.2 | (69.0) |
| Others | 2.2 | 2.1 |
