Francis is editor for Fund Selector Asia, covering the asset and wealth management industry in Asia. He joined Last Word Media in November 2016 as a senior journalist and became deputy editor in 2019. Previously, he was a reporter at Ignites Asia, A Financial Times service, also covering the region's asset management industry. He has a Master's degree in journalism from The University of Hong Kong.
Natixis Asset Management, which will be rebranded as Ostrum Asset Management on 3 April, aims to expand its AUM coming from the private and retail banking segments in Asia, according to Fabrice Chemouny, Hong Kong-based head of Asia-Pacific of the firm’s holding company, Natixis Investment Managers.
Foreign investment funds continue to be popular in Thailand, with assets growing 15% annually to THB 1.17trn ($37bn) in 2017, according to Bank of Thailand’s 2017 financial stability report.
Malaysia’s regulator has provided details on applying for a robo-advisory asset manager licence, after first announcing the plan in 2017.
In separate moves, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission this month has gone after UBS, Deutsche Bank and CLSA for regulatory breaches.
Franklin Templeton and Samsung AM to establish JV in Korea; Nippon Life to acquire 5% stake in Deutsche AM IPO; UBS AM launches RMB fixed income fund to professional investors in Hong Kong and Singapore; majority of funds in Australia underperform; MAS and Singapore Police to jointly investigate all financial advisory offences; MSCI launches 12 new China indexes; and more…
China will see a stronger renminbi and a looser money supply in 2018, as the authorities’ agenda aimed at curbing domestic leverage evolves, argues Gregory Suen, investment director for Asian fixed income at HSBC Global Asset Management.
Amundi Asset Management is considering setting up wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in China and plans to launch more Hong Kong-domiciled funds, according to Zhong Xiaofeng, the firm’s CEO for North Asia.
Alternatives, such as hedge funds and private equity, are an important diversification tool, especially at a time when markets are becoming more volatile, argues James Cheo, senior investment strategist at Bank of Singapore.
ETF assets in Asia-Pacific are expected to grow four times to reach $1.9trn by 2025, according to a report by Broadridge Financial.
In 2017, more than half of UBS Wealth Management’s net new money came from the region, according to the group’s annual report.
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