Vanguard has decided to terminate its ETF business in Hong Kong, following its decision in August last year that it was leaving the SAR to shift its strategy to the mainland.
At the time, the firm said that it will either appoint a new manager of its ETF or terminate them entirely.
“Having taken into account factors regarded by the manager as relevant, including but not limited to, the manager’s publicly stated intention to implement an orderly exit from its exchange traded funds business in Hong Kong and the exhaustion of a process to identify a new investment manager, the manager is of the view that the proposed termination o the trust and the sub-funds would be in the best interests of the unitholders,” Vanguard said in a notice issued to shareholders last week.
The last trading day for all of Vanguard’s six ETFs listed in Hong Kong, which collectively have assets of $576.1m, will be on 10 May, the notice said.
The asset manager will pay investors their money back via cash proceeds, which is expected to be distributed on or around 16 July this year, it added.
Vanguard’s ETFs listed in Hong Kong
| Product’s name | Net asset value |
| Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan Index ETF | HK$ 552.3m |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe Index ETF | HK$ 1bn |
| Vanguard FTSE Japan Index ETF | HK$ 218.7m |
| Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index ETF | HK$ 377.9m |
| Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF | HK$ 1.92bn |
| Vanguard Total China Index ETF | RMB 337.9m |
Vanguard received relevant licences to operate in Hong Kong in 2012 and launched its first Hong Kong-listed ETF in 2013, according to SFC records.
Vanguard also scaled back its plans of establishing a mutual fund management company in China. Instead, it will focus on its investment advisory joint-venture with Ant Group.
Vanguard forged the JV with Ant Group in December 2019, which launched an investment advisory platform in April 2020. By the end of last year, the platform had attracted more than 500,000 clients.
