Following the regulator’s approval of ten SSGA funds in Hong Kong, the Securities and Futures Commission has now approved five Luxembourg-domiciled products from Wells Fargo Asset Management, making them available to retail investors in Hong Kong.
When launched, Wells Fargo AM, which has been largely institutional focused, will have fifteen SFC-authorised funds for sale to retail investors in Hong Kong, FE Fundinfo data shows.
The new products are from the Wells Fargo (Lux) Worldwide Fund series: the EUR Investment Grade Credit Fund, Global Long/Short Equity Fund, Global Low Volatility Equity Fund, Global Opportunity Bond Fund and USD Investment Grade Credit Fund, according to the regulator’s records.
The Global Long/Short Equity Fund has been available only to accredited investors in Singapore. Incepted in July 2017, it uses “quantitative models to evaluate multiple fundamental, statistical, technical, and proprietary factors also known as alpha signals, and seeks long-term capital appreciation while preserving capital in down markets”, the factsheet noted.
As for the Global Low Volatility Equity Fund, its factsheet said that it seeks to produce returns that are similar to those of the MSCI World Index, but with lower volatility than the global equity markets, as measured by the MSCI World Index over a full market cycle. The product was launched in January 2013.
The other funds are primarily focused on investment grade bonds.
Back in 2013, the firm made many of its sub-funds available in Singapore for the first time through two of that country’s largest third-party mutual fund distribution platforms: I-Fast and Phillip Capital.
Wells Fargo has offices in Singapore and Shanghai a large office in Hong Kong, but it does not have an fund investment team in Asia. The firm was contacted for additional information, but a spokeswoman referred questions to the US office and it did not answer in time for publication.
