The master agent agreement is pending regulatory approval and comes after Thornburg appointed Concord as its Taiwan private placement agent in August 2020.
The arrangement meant that Concord could help Thornburg market its global equities and fixed income Ucits funds and separately managed account solutions to institutions and wealthy investors in Taiwan.
However, a master agent agreement is required to distribute offshore funds to the general public.
“The agreement with Concord is consistent with our global distribution growth strategy and our ongoing commitment to expand our presence across Asia,” said Thornburg president and chief executive Jason Brady.
Concord represents other foreign asset managers as a master agent in Taiwan, including KBI Investors and Carmignac.
Offshore mutual funds are popular among Taiwan’s domestic investors. As of July of 2021, there are a total of 40 master agents, 64 offshore fund institutions, 1,017 offshores fund institutions and the offshore mutual fund assets were at NT$3.9trn ($140.7bn), according to data from Taiwan’s Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association.
Hong Kong presence
Thornburg, the New Mexico-headquartered asset manager, has also been targeting Hong Kong investors.
In late 2020, the company was awarded a licence for dealing in securities (Type 1) by the Securities and Futures Commission, according to the regulator’s records.
The licence enables the firm to offer its collective investment schemes to investors in the Hong Kong, the records show, noting that the products can only be sold to professional investors in the territory.
Thornburg established its office in Hong Kong as its Asia-Pacific hub to serve institutional and high net worth clients in the region. Before Hong Kong and Taiwan, the firm had already started offering six of its mutual fund products to accredited investors in Singapore, according to records from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Founded in 1982, Thornburg is a privately owned global investment firm that oversees $49bn as of 31 July, 2021 across mutual funds, closed-end funds, institutional accounts, separate accounts for high-net-worth investors and Ucits funds for non-US investors.
