Asset manager Income Partners has named a former Vanguard Investments stalwart as its new group chief distribution officer. Linda Luk has joined the Asia fixed income specialist in what is a newly created role. Previously head of Hong Kong distribution at Vanguard where she led ETF and mutual fund sales via intermediaries including private banks, Luk is tasked with “[focusing] […]

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European asset manager Amundi has made two senior appointments to drive its Greater China business, the firm announced today. Zhong Xiaofeng has been promoted to chairman of Amundi Greater China, based in Hong Kong. He has been with the asset manager since 2011, joining as deputy chief executive officer, sales and marketing. In 2012 he became the CEO for North […]

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American investment manager Vanguard has announced an internal appointment for its head of Asia today. Scott Conking has been placed in the new role and will join Vanguard’s international leadership team, effective 13 March 2020. As head of Vanguard Asia, Conking will assume responsibility for management, distribution, and operations of the Asia business, and oversee offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, […]

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As the battle of ETFs versus mutual funds over the past few years has spawned actively managed ETFs, private banks in Asia are increasingly blurring the line between active and passive investments, with ESG ETFs starting to gather pace in the region. Sean Cunningham, head of ETFs for Asia at J.P. Morgan Asset Management told Asian Private Banker that markets have […]

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Asset manager GAM Investments announced today that it has hired a client manager for its intermediary sales business in Hong Kong and Singapore. Vanessa Lee has joined from Vanguard Investments Hong Kong, where she focused on the private bank distribution channel across Hong Kong and Singapore and promoted the sales of index funds and ETFs. In addition, she held positions related […]

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As Asian investors turned more positive on the market as 2019 progressed, Taiwan-listed ETFs/ETPs (comprising mostly bond products) gathered US$25.2 billion in 2019, the most of all ETFs/ETPs in the region, according to the latest data by asset manager Vanguard. This figure was followed by China-listed ETFs/ETPs (US$10.0 billion), South Korea-listed ETFs/ETPs (US$5.2 billion) and India-listed ETFs/ETPs (US$5.1 billion). Hong […]

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Investors globally — including private banking clients in Asia — have fled from equity ETFs and moved into their fixed income and gold counterparts, according to asset manager Vanguard, who observed that August has seen the most intense asset shift in three years. “Amid recent market volatility, clients tend to shun away from risk assets and flock to fixed income-related […]

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Bond ETFs have proved particularly popular amongst private banking investors, Vanguard told Asian Private Banker, highlighting that, over the last six months, four of its top ten funds by inflow were fixed income solutions. Linda Luk, managing director, head of distribution, Hong Kong at Vanguard Investments Hong Kong, said that most bond ETF inflows have gravitated towards the short-duration space, […]

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This is a sponsored article from Vanguard. The investment world has embraced factor-based strategies in recent years as their popularity has soared and a rapidly growing and diverse array of product offerings has emerged. As the range of offerings expands, however, so too does the number of myths and misconceptions surrounding factor-based investing, not least because of the lack of […]

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This is a sponsored article from Vanguard. Factor-based investing has boomed in popularity in recent years as accelerating technology offers investors a systematic and disciplined approach to enhancing returns and controlling risk. When it comes to portfolio construction, how can factors be used? Since each investor has a unique combination of objectives, constraints, due-diligence capabilities, and belief sets, it is […]

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This is a sponsored article from Vanguard. Interest in factor investing has increased significantly over the past decade due to a number of factors including increased academic research, the push for improved performance in a low-return environment, and a renewed focus on managing risks from multiple angles. New tools and technology have also entered the scene, offering a more systematic […]

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Demand for fixed income ETFs amongst Asia’s private banking clients is on the rise, partly thanks to efficient pricing in the market and tighter spreads, according to Vanguard. “We have seen [the pricing of bond ETFs] is now really efficient, which means the bid and ask spread of bond ETFs is getting tighter and tighter, and sometimes even tighter than […]

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Vanguard says it has seen rising demand for ETFs amongst ultra-wealthy clients in Asia, who are particularly cost wary. “Banks on the advisory side are still running the traditional model of trailer fees, and ETFs are not the products that they would present in front of clients,” Linda Luk, managing director of Vanguard’s retail and intermediary business in Asia, told […]

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Although US and global stocks have risen since February, recent fund traffic data suggests that interest in passive equity funds has seen a slight decline. APB Mandate seeks forward-looking trends in its Asset Management Heat Map, an exclusive weekly column analysing regional fund demand based on internet traffic data provided by fundinfo. Equity markets in the US and globally have […]

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Vanguard capped off a strong 2016 with a US$289 billion injection from investors globally, surpassing the rest of the fund industry combined, according to a recent Morningstar report. The remainder of the industry took in US$244 billion, US$45 billion behind Vanguard’s net inflows. Understandably, 2016 was a lacklustre year, with the global fund industry registering its lowest net inflows since 2011 […]

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Vanguard has reached another milestone by reducing the expense ratios of its five Hong Kong-listed ETFs by over 30% on average, giving it the lowest total expense ratio (TER) in each of the fund’s five categories in Hong Kong. “The TER cut is an example of Vanguard’s long-standing commitment to offering investors high-quality products and services while continually lowering costs,” said Charles Lin, […]

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A growing awareness of low-cost passive investment vehicles has led to stellar flows into Vanguard’s Exchange-Trade Fund (ETF) product range, including a 100% year-on-year growth in assets from Asia’s private banks. The American asset manager attributes this to two key drivers: a shifting regulatory environment towards greater due diligence and the expansion of the discretionary business. “After regulators insisted that […]

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Vanguard, the mutual fund and ETF provider, has launched a new ETF that tracks the S&P 500, extending the firm’s Hong Kong ETF coverage to nearly 80% of global market caps. Indicative pricing is provided by the S&P futures market, which is open almost 24 hours a day. James Martielli, head of portfolio review at Vanguard, says: “This is another […]

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Changing cost structures, greater client education and new attitudes towards ETFs are spurring growth in the region, according to James Martielli, head of portfolio review at fund manager Vanguard. ETFs in Hong Kong are highly popular retail instruments, but they should be utilised more as part of a broader, longer-term investment outlook, says Martielli. “ETFs should be treated as long-term investments. […]

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