China AM’s Ping An targets global investors

Ping An of China Asset Management in Hong Kong has launched its first UCITs umbrella fund in an attempt to attract global investment.

Last week, China Asset Management’s offshore, Hong Kong-listed investment platform, Ping An, has launched its first UCITs umbrella fund, in a move to target global investors. The umbrella fund is made up of four sub-funds, three of which will be used for specifically investing in Chinese assets.

“This new UCITs vehicle provides global investors [with] the opportunity to invest in China’s equity and fixed income markets. We look forward to launching more products and services that meet global investor demands," said Hoi Tung, Chairman and Chief Executive of Ping An Overseas Holdings

According to a Ping An spokesperson, the firm already has relations with distribution partners across Europe, and they’re already preparing to apply Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission in order to distribute the products to retail investors. Currently, in Hong Kong, the firm already manages six ETFs and a single unit trust fund that is domiciled in the territory.

Ping An’s sub-funds focus on a Chinese equity fund, two Chinese fixed income products, and one that takes aim at emerging market bonds. Here’s a breakdown:

China A-Shares AI Multi-Factor Fund

The China A-Shares AI Multi-Factor fund will be used to create diverse equity portfolios; through the implementation of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, Ping An’s systems will have enhanced stock selection and portfolio optimisation capabilities. The system “aims to achieve stable excess returns above the benchmark China Securities Index (CSE) 300 Total Return Index.” 

China Green Bond Fund

The China Green Bond Sub-Fund is focused wholly on China’s emerging ‘green’ markets, which have been created to align the People’s Republic with the rest of the world when it comes to international standards for promoting green financing. The fund will also be used to advance environmentally-friendly investments and increase social awareness in China and other emerging Asian countries. “Bolstered by strong domestic economic recovery and policy support, China green bonds not only help investors capture China’s green opportunities, but also mitigate risk due to its low correlations to other major asset classes.” 

China High-Yield Private Strategy Bond Fund

China’s High-Yield Private Strategy Bond Sub-Fund will focus on investing in high yield corporate bonds to guarantee investors an “absolute” return on investment from investment income and long-term capital appreciation. The Fund may also look at investing in debt securities “issued by sovereign, government agencies and/or companies having main operations in mainland China.”

Emerging Market Income Fund

Much like the High-Yield Private Strategy, the Emerging Market Income Sub-Fund has ambitions to provide “absolute” return on investment from income and long-term capital appreciation. They will achieve this by investing “at least 60% of its net assets in debt securities issued by sovereign, government agencies and/or companies having main operations in emerging market countries.”

“Capitalising on the geographic advantage of Hong Kong, PAAMC HK connects China with the rest of the world. We are committed to helping our onshore Chinese clients to invest globally and our global clients to invest in China. Currently, we are seeing strong growth in demand for Chinese assets, as China can provide both pickup in yields and portfolio diversification. 

"We are very excited to broaden our offering to include our first UCITS fund, which provides our global clients access to opportunities to invest in China,” added Chi Kit Chai, Head of Capital Markets and Chief Investment Officer, Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong).