The firm’s Shanghai-based wholly foreign-owned subsidiary (WFOE), which has a private fund management (PFM) licence, has received approval to launch its China Ruixiang Bond Strategy No 6 Private Securities Investment Fund, according to records from the Asset Management Association of China (Amac).
Having a PFM licence enables foreign entities to develop and sell funds investing in onshore assets to domestic qualified investors, which include institutional and high net worth investors.
The fund has been launched to high net worth individuals, according to Adrian Chen, the WFOE’s Shanghai-based general manager. However, he declined to name the fund’s distributors.
Among all foreign PFM players, UBS AM has the most number of products, with 10 onshore funds registered with the Amac. The move follows the registration of the firm’s ninth product in December. The firm registered its first PFM product in 2017, according to Amac records.
Following UBS AM is Value Partners, which manages eight PFMs, and British quant fund manager Winton Capital, which now runs seven onshore products, Amac records show.
UBS AM also has a qualified domestic limited partner (QDLP) business, in which it has launched one product, according to Chen. Having a QDLP licence allows managers to launch onshore products that invest in overseas investments to domestic qualified investors, within allowable quotas.
UBS AM’s WFOE has 32 staff and registered capital of $30.5m, according to Z-Ben Advisor.
In total, there are two dozen foreign PFM licence holders that have launched 65 onshore funds, according to latest data from Amac.
More managers have applied for the licence. For example, Hong Kong-based BEA Union Investment received its PFM qualification in January.
New PFM entities are required to register their first product with the Amac with six months after obtaining the qualification. However, Amac has extended that period to 12 months due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
To-date, there are 35,982 confirmed coronavirus cases in mainland China and 908 people have died, according to the latest report from China’s National Health Commission.
