The bank said it will be accelerating investments in Asia to capture the region’s significant wealth opportunity.
HSBC Asset Management will be enhancing its high net worth product range, with a focus on alternatives, ESG and thematic equity, and will expand product and distribution capabilities in mainland China, India and Southeast Asia, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
This is in line with the bank's pivot to Asia and a renewed focus on the region, to which it is channeling its resources. Last week, HSBC APAC chief Peter Wong said the bank will be doubling down on Asia in the coming years and will add around $6 billion of additional investments.
Wealth Opportunity
In the statement, HSBC cited the fast-growing wealth pools, increasingly aging populations and burgeoning demand for investment diversification as reasons for its acceleration of investments in the region.
«We will use our global investment expertise to connect our Asian clients to the world and harness our deep knowledge of Asian markets to help international investors capture growth in this region’s fastest-growing economies,» Pedro Bastos, HSBC Asset Management APAC CEO, said.
China Targets
HSBC AM said it aims to become a top 10 internationally-owned asset manager in China by 2025, and will capitalize on HSBC Jintrust, the firm's Chinese joint venture with Shanxi Trust, for growth.
Bastos said the bank wants to serve both the onshore and international needs of clients in mainland China and investors who want to participate in the opening of the country’s financial and capital markets to the world.
Growing AUM
Driven by strong net new money in Asia and strong fund performance, HSBC AM's assets under management grew 10 percent year-on-year to reach $184 billion in 2020. This represents roughly one-third of its global AUM.
HSBC AM manages $13 billion in discretionary assets for private banking clients in Hong Kong, four times more than in 2015.
