Credit Suisse and its securities joint venture for China, Credit Suisse Founder Securities, announced two senior research appointments.
Li Chen (pictured above), previously China A-share strategist at Credit Suisse, has moved to Credit Suisse Founder Securities (CSFS) as chief strategist to lead its A-share coverage, according to a statement made at the 21st Credit Suisse Annual Asian Investment Conference (AIC) this week in Hong Kong.
In his new role Chen will leverage Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong and China equity research team to deliver unique and bespoke investment ideas that are focused on the A-share market to both domestic and international clients.
Consistently Ranked Among Top Franchises
This appointment underscores Credit Suisse’s commitment to the joint venture, the Swiss bank said. Led by Edmond Huang, Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong and China equity research business has consistently ranked among the top three equities franchises in the region and in Greater China. Chen reports to Mingshen Wang, CEO of CSFS.
Chen brings more than 20 years of experience in China A-share Research to CSFS. Before joining Credit Suisse in 2015, he was the head of China equity strategy at UBS Securities for five years. He also previously worked as the head of research at Harvest Fund, the second largest mutual fund in China. He was ranked among the top three portfolio strategists by «Institutional Investor» (all-China) and by «Asiamoney» from 2011 to 2014.
Seven Years With UBS
At the same time, Herman Chan Hiu Chun joins CSFS’ research department as executive director. Chan reports Li Chen. He has more than ten years’ experience in regional and China onshore equity research, including seven years with UBS as the product manager for Asia research in Hong Kong, and three years with UBS Securities as the product & business manager in Shanghai. He also previously worked at HSBC Qianhai Securities.
These senior appointments come amid the long-awaited inclusion of China A-shares in MSCI’s key global benchmark equity indices, which will come into effect in June 2018. The inclusion is a major milestone in internationalizing the world’s second-largest stock market, with its approximately $7 trillion market capitalization, and is expected to attract more international funds.
Huge Fund Flows
With the imminent MSCI A-share inclusion, Credit Suisse estimates that the domestic A-share market will attract $15 billion in initial international fund flows by August 2018, reaching close to $300 billion of potential fund flows upon full A-share inclusion, which is anticipated to occur within a decade.
