During Q2, APAC-domiciled active funds had net outflows of $11.4bn while passive funds, which include index tracking mutual funds and ETFs, had net sales of $19.9bn.
During the quarter, only 37% of all onshore passive and active funds in the region, including Japan and Australia, recorded net inflows, according to the report.
Within actively-managed funds, guaranteed funds had the largest outflows ($4.8bn), according to the report.
Barbara Ferraresi, Broadridge’s director of global distribution solutions, told FSA in an e-mail reply that guaranteed funds began to have outflows in early 2017. “This category has been suffering outflows for some time.”
The majority of the outflows in guaranteed funds come from China, Ferraresi said, adding that onshore Chinese bonds also saw outflows of $2.5bn during the second quarter.
HK and SG top 10
Turning to passive products, Ferraresi said that most of the gains came from Japan-focused ETFs, driven by ETF purchases by Bank of Japan.
“China equity ETFs also are gaining traction, and the story is slightly different as not all successful funds are domiciled in China,” she said. Although China-domiciled ETFs saw net inflows of $3bn during the second quarter, China-focused ETFs in Hong Kong had net inflows of $870m and those in Taiwan had $340m.
In Hong Kong, four of the top 10 funds in terms of net sales during the second quarter are China-focused ETFs, according to data provided to FSA by Broadridge.
Top 10 products in Hong Kong (US$m)
| Fund Name |
ETF |
Fund Sector | Estimated net sales (2Q 2018) |
| ChinaAMC CSI 300 Index ETF |
Yes |
Equities China |
279.9 |
| Hang Seng H-Share Index ETF |
Yes |
Equities China |
274.5 |
| JPMorgan China Income |
No |
Mixed Assets Income |
269.7 |
| Principal LSF-Hong Kong Equity Fund |
No |
Equities Hong Kong |
255.5 |
| JPMorgan China Pioneer A-Share |
No |
Equities China |
149.1 |
| Fidelity Global Invt-Mkt Invt-Global Bond Fund |
No |
Bonds Global Currencies |
136.7 |
| HSBC China Multi-Asset Income AM |
No |
Mixed Assets Income |
136.4 |
| iShares Core MSCI Taiwan Index ETF |
Yes |
Equities Taiwan |
123.0 |
| Pictet Strategic Income |
No |
Mixed Assets Income |
118.9 |
| iShares FTSE A50 China Index ETF |
Yes |
Equities China |
108.0 |
Source: Broadridge Financial, Data excludes money market and fund of funds
The picture is different in Singapore, where the top 10 selling products are all actively-managed funds.
Top 10 products in Singapore (US $m)
| Fund Name |
ETF |
Fund Sector |
Estimated net sales (2Q 2018) |
| United Income Focus Trust |
No |
Mixed Assets Income |
161.1 |
| First State Dividend Advantage |
No |
Equities Pacific Income |
83.8 |
| Schroder Asian Growth |
No |
Equities Pacific ex Japan |
70.2 |
| Lion Capitals II – Lion Bank of Singapore Asian Income Fund |
No |
Asset Allocation |
54.8 |
| Schroder Asian Income Fund |
No |
Mixed Assets Income |
46.6 |
| Eastspring IUT-Singapore Select Bond |
No |
Bonds SGD |
38.6 |
| United Global Quality Growth |
No |
Equities Global |
31.0 |
| Nikko AM Shenton Horizon Singapore Equity |
No |
Equities Singapore |
14.0 |
| PineBridge Intl Funds – Singapore Bond |
No |
Bonds SGD |
13.1 |
| Schroder Global Quality Bond |
No |
Bonds Global Currencies |
12.9 |
Source: Broadridge Financial, Data excludes money market and fund of funds
Overall in Asia-Pacific (incl Australia and Japan), the top selling sectors during the second quarter were dominated by equity funds, while the bottom-selling sectors were dominated by bond funds, according to the report.
With the exception of Chinese equities, the report noted that net inflows to country-specific funds tended to come from within the country itself. For example, purchases for Korean won bond funds came from Korea, while Japanese equity funds saw net inflows from Japan.
