Analysis

New Zealand punches above its weight
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

New Zealand punches above its weight

New Zealand’s asset management industry has been punching above its weight in collaboration with the government despite its remote geographical location and its small population of just over five million. One of its firms recently became the first to be approved to distribute funds across borders under the Asia Region Funds Passport scheme.

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China’s bank wealth management business comes out of the shadows
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

China’s bank wealth management business comes out of the shadows

China’s 25.8 trillion RMB wealth management sector represents the biggest pool of managed assets in China, larger than the 23 trillion RMB mutual fund market. The business is entering a new phase of development after a sweeping regulatory overhaul three years ago. The government has set up a new licence for the sector as well as allowing the entry of foreign competition to encourage players to break away from dubious practices in the past and to innovate and improve their services. The The long-awaited Wealth Management Connect scheme for the Greater Bay Area recently announced can be another booster.

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Digital platforms transform China’s fund distribution landscape
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

Digital platforms transform China’s fund distribution landscape

Digital wealth platforms powered by big data analytics and artificial intelligence are rocking China’s fund distribution and wealth management market. They have rapidly developed into fund-selling powerhouses. Together with the push for investment advisory services, they have transformed China’s fund distribution landscape by bringing some much-needed diversification and discipline to the industry.

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Tokyo’s bid to become a global financial centre
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

Tokyo’s bid to become a global financial centre

Japan has implemented a package of incentives to lure foreign fund houses to move to Tokyo, taking a big step forward on its plan to replace Hong Kong as Asia’s premier international financial centre. Despite these initiatives and Japan’s overall economic and other strengths, there are some intrinsic shortcomings that work against its plan.

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Front-to-back outsourcing: the third wave
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

Front-to-back outsourcing: the third wave

Front-to-back outsourcing has become a new battleground for securities services providers in addressing the evolving needs of asset managers. Demand for fast and accurate data is driving outsourcing of front-to-back office operations.

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Unlocking China’s domestic wealth
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

Unlocking China’s domestic wealth

China’s asset management industry has developed the depth and breadth that goes far beyond mutual funds over the past two decades. Foreign fund managers now have a number of routes to tap the vast China market.

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Foreign participation in China’s investment market
Lawrence Au Lawrence Au

Foreign participation in China’s investment market

The Chinese investment market has been fast changing over the past two decades since it started. A multi-faced ecosystem has developed embracing diversity as well as specialisation. Although there are now multiple avenues for foreign participation, Chinese regulators can do a lot more to internationalise the industry .

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