The “Financial Future Planning Academy” will be working with universities in both markets, focusing on financial investments, technology, policies and regulations and researching industry topics to provide investors with better products, according to a joint statement from the firms.
An Amsterdam-based APG spokesman said that the academy’s research may also include feedback from market practitioners to policy makers.
He did not mention the names of the universities that E Fund and APG are partnering with, but noted that the academy will be launched this year and will announce their names in due course.
“The academy will produce professional insights and consultancy to support us in research and investment, guiding investors and individuals on better retirement plans” Gerard van Olphen, APG’s CEO, said in the statement.
E Fund and APG established its strategic alliance in June last year, as reported. The cooperation between the two firms include asset and liability management, as well as investments, product development and design.
Both firms have also developed an investment platform in China as well as a technology partnership, Sau Kwan, president of E Fund, said in the statement. However, the details are vague.
According to the APG spokesman, the platform provides “a seamless investment process” for both firms that includes the “latest technology”. He did not elaborate on what exactly the platform is or what it does.
“This is more a virtual process than a physical one,” he added.
FSA sought more information about the investment platform from E Fund, but the firm did not reply.
E Fund, which provides asset management services in China with mutual funds, pension funds and segregated account businesses, managed around RMB 1trn ($145bn) at the end of 2016, according to the statement.
APG invests €443bn ($477.8bn) of pension assets as a fiduciary or pension manager. It has offices in Amsterdam and Heerlen and subsidiaries in Hong Kong and New York, according to the statement.
