Pictet Asset Management has appointed Cayla Fan as the China intermediaries business director, according to a statement from the firm.
Fan replaced an intermediary sales manager who left Pictet AM late last year, Lawrence Tse, senior vice president, told FSA. “But her role has been repositioned with a focus on expanding the firm’s intermediaries business in China.”
The appointment was effective 19 March and she is based in Hong Kong, the statement noted.
Prior to joining Pictet, Fan was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, covering China domiciled private banks, wealth and asset management and fintech.
With around 15 years in the industry, she has also spent time at various financial institutions including Gao Hua Securities and Wellington Management as a portfolio advisor, the statement noted.
Fan’s appointment coincides with the firm’s Strategic Income Fund approval by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) last month.
The multi-asset strategy contains equities, fixed income and alternatives. According to the factsheet of February 28, the portfolio is holding 21% in cash. Its single largest position is in US Treasury futures (US Ultra Bond Cbt Jun20) which accounts for 14.3% of the entire fund.
The current yield is about 5.5%, subject to the different share classes, and being distributed on a monthly basis, according to a firm spokeswoman. However, the MRF fund is an accumulation fund with no income distribution.
Despite experiencing a sharp selloff beginning in February, the fund is up 2.4% over three years (chart below).
“Naturally, Fan will be the key person liaising with Tianhong Asset Management which will serve as the master agent of the fund in China,” Tse said.
Launch will go forward
The spread of the coronavirus has prompted many firms to delay plans for fund launches and new initiatives in the region. Moreover, after initially getting control of the epidemic inside China, the country is now seeing an increase in new cases from people returning home from abroad.
Junjie Watkins, CEO in Asia ex-Japan, made only an oblique reference to the situation in the statement: “[E]ven though global markets will remain beleaguered by short-term uncertainties, our actively managed multi-asset strategy will enable onshore investors to stay invested during these volatile times.”
The product is scheduled to be launched in the second half, and will become the China market’s first global multi-asset strategy available to onshore investors under the MRF scheme, according to the statement.
According to Tse, the launch in the second half is progressing as planned. “We believe the recent market corrections will offer onshore investors interesting entry points to diversify into global assets, which currently only account for small portion of their portfolios.
Separately, the firm has not applied to establish a wholly-foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) and other relevant licences to offer products in China, including the private fund management (PFM) or qualified domestic limited partnership (QDLP) licences.
“We will continue to explore different ways [in mainland China], including the possibility of establishing a WFOE,” Tse told FSA, without providing more details.
The Pictet Strategic Income Fund versus category average
