ChinaAMC (HK) takes over BMO’s ETFs

The ETFs have total assets of about HK$4.35bn ($560m), and Mackenzie Investments, a Canadian asset manager and also one of the major shareholders of ChinaAMC, will be the investment advisor, according to a statement by the Chinese firm.

These seven ETFs have been included in the list of approved Hong Kong Index-Tracking Collective Investment Schemes (ITCIS), and the takeover, ChinaAMC (HK) will become the second largest ETF provider in terms of the number of ETFs included in ITCIS.

ChinaAMC (HK) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Asset Management that was incorporated in Hong Kong in September 2008.

“The takeover will create synergies and help us further diversify our product portfolio, and let Mackenzie Investments showcase their extensive capabilities,” said Tian Gan, CEO of ChinaAMC (HK), in the statement.

The ETFs include the former BMO Nasdaq 100 ETF, which will add to ChinaAMC (HK)’s stable of Nasdaq-linked vehicles. The firm already operates a Nasdaq-100 2x leveraged product, a Nasdaq-100 -2x inverse product, and a Nasdaq-100 -1x inverse product.

“This wide product range is set to allow investors to fully capture the investment opportunities amid the market volatility in the US stock market,” said Gan.

In March, BMO drew a line under its Asian ambitions following a unanimous decision of unitholders to appoint China AMC (HK) run its Hong Kong-listed ETFs from 28 May, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange at the time.

The withdrawals came after the Canadian bank agreed earlier this year to offload its Hong Kong and Singapore private banking business to Basel-based J Safra Sarasin.

In contrast to its retreat from Asia, BMO Asset Management launched 11 new ETFs, including five focussed on innovation, in Canada at the start of this year. In its home market, the firm has 103 ETF mandates covering leading equity indices, fixed income, smart beta and active as well as passive strategies, according to the firm’s website.