The Value Partners China Jingdu Private Securities Investment Fund received approval from the Asset Management Association of China (Amac) on Tuesday, according to Amac’s records.
This move comes after the firm registered its eighth PFM product, the Value Partners China Fengtai No 2 Private Securities Investment Fund, in November last year.
In total, Value Partners’ Shanghai-based wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) manages nine PFM products which is the second largest number, slightly behind UBS Asset Management, which has the most onshore products (13), Amac records show.
Having a PFM licence enables a foreign firm to develop and sell funds investing in onshore assets to domestic qualified investors, which include institutional and high net worth investors.
A spokeswoman for the firm told FSA that the PFM business segment “allows us to enter China’s private funds market, which is worth RMB 3trn ($422.1bn).
“We will continue launching new products via the PFM license with the top tier private banks and securities companies,” she added, but declined to name any distribution partners.
The firm said in an earlier interview that its business in the Chinese mainland continues to grow significantly, with mainland AUM up 60% in 2019 to $1.7bn.
“Institutional business contributes approximately 90% of our China AUM. We provide investment advisory on institutional in-house money. Other key growth factors include the PFM and MRF business,” she added.
Value Partners’ Shanghai WFOE has 26 staff, with registered capital of $7.3m, according to a Z-Ben Advisor report.
The firm also manages two qualified domestic limited partnership (QDLP) products. The QDLP scheme allows foreign managers to raise money in China, with assigned quotas, to invest in offshore traditional and alternative investments, including overseas equity and bond funds, hedge funds and property, according to Amac records.
In total, there are around two dozen foreign PFM licence holders that have launched 70 onshore funds, according to latest data from Amac.
Several asset mangers have obtained the PFM qualification this year, including Income Partners, Russell Investments, Schroder Adveq and BEA Union Investment.
