Chinese wealth manager GROW Investment Group is expanding its business in the Middle East, shunning geopolitical noise and betting on its AI-driven digital wealth platform for growth. The firm, backed by Swiss pure-play Julius Baer, has recently received in-principle approval to conduct both asset management and wealth management business in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), it shared with Asian […]

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China’s GROW Investment Group (GROW) is seeking to enhance its digital assets offerings for ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) and families through a collaboration with a Web3 firm. GROW Digital Wealth (GDW), GROW’s Hong Kong-based digital assets platform, has signed an investment term sheet with Animoca Brands, securing strategic funding to build an integrated wealth management platform for both […]

The post Chinese wealth manager GROW secures funding for digital assets push appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Chinese wealth manager GROW Investment Group (GROW) has enlisted an industry veteran in an effort to boost its global investment capabilities. GROW, which has a partnership with Swiss pure play Julius Baer, said on Wednesday that Ted Lee has joined the firm as a member of its global strategic asset allocation committee and senior advisor. As part of the role, […]

The post Julius Baer-backed GROW brings on ex Blackstone MD as senior advisor appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

GROW Investment Group (GROW), a Chinese wealth manager, is among the firms looking to tap a Middle East-to-China wealth corridor being pushed by Hong Kong officials who believe the city could be key in linking the two regions. William Ma, GROW’s chief investment officer, told APB that the firm plans to set up an office in the UAE later this […]

The post China’s GROW targets UAE as officials push for closer ties appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

A group of China offshore private fund managers is set to launch an industry association in Hong Kong as they navigate a beaten-down market that shows no signs of a quick recovery. The Chinese Overseas Private Funds Association, which aims to connect Chinese managers with international allocators and market participants in the private fund industry, is set to officially launch […]

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Mainland Chinese authorities in Hainan have issued several new Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) licences to international firms, expanding local investors’ access to global assets. Among the firms included in the latest batch of licences is wealth manager GROW Investment Group (GROW), marking the latest initiative from Chinese authorities to increase the participation of international firms in the onshore wealth […]

The post Hainan: Chinese resort island’s QDLP push gathers momentum appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Shanghai-based wealth manager GROW Investment Group (GROW) is targeting several asset manager acquisitions in China this year, aiming for double-digit AUM growth. “Market uncertainties have been driving the trend of consolidation of small-to-medium size asset managers, and we are looking at acquiring, either the whole firm, or attracting those portfolio managers with unique funds strategy, to join the firm,” William […]

The post Chinese wealth manager GROW targets M&A for AUM growth appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Last year saw hedge funds turn in their worst performance since 2018, according to industry data provider Hedge Fund Research, as they were dragged down by those strategies focused on equities with portfolio managers struggling to place bets amid market turmoil. Hedge funds on average lost 4.25% in 2022, according to the HFRI 500 Fund Weighted Composite Index, which tracks […]

The post Will hedge funds shine in 2023? Private banks think so appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

It takes more than an impending Typhoon 8 warning to stop bankers from coming to Hong Kong after almost three years away. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is hosting banking’s top figures at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit this week, which started on Tuesday with a dinner at M+, the art gallery in the West Kowloon Cultural District. The […]

The post It takes more than a typhoon to keep bankers away from Hong Kong’s re-opening appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

A former China strategist who left Chinese investment bank BOCOM International in Hong Kong after posting unfavourable comments about the Chinese economy is going to help open the Hong Kong office of a Shanghai-based hedge fund. Hong Hao is joining GROW Investment Group (GROW) to expand its Hong Kong business, with a focus on U/HNWIs. William Ma, global CIO of […]

The post Popular China analyst is joining hedge fund in Hong Kong appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The golden age of Chinese tech stocks is over, and U/HNW clients would do better focusing instead on areas such as new energy, convertible bonds and commodities, believes William Ma, CIO of the China-focused multi-strategy investment firm GROW Investment Group (GROW). The Hang Seng Tech index, a barometer for mainland Chinese technology companies, has fallen by more than 40% over […]

The post Golden age of China tech giants is over: William Ma of GROW Investment Group appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

China’s hedge funds are increasingly getting the attention of U/HNWIs and private banks, even as equity markets in the world’s second-biggest economy reel from a whirlwind of regulatory actions targeting megacap technology groups. The country’s hedge fund industry has flourished in recent years, with figures from the Asset Management Association of China showing that there were more than 1 million […]

The post Chinese hedge funds grab U/HNWIs’ attention as volatility hits stock markets appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) looks set to yield lucrative opportunities for the region’s wealth management industry in the coming years, according to leading private banking and investment executives — even if questions remain how best to capitalise on them in the short term. At Asian Private Banker’s GBA Connect 2022 forum on Thursday, private bankers, asset managers […]

The post Lucrative opportunities for private banks but challenges ahead: GBA CONNECT 2022 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Speaking on the first day of Asian Private Banker‘s virtual summit APB Change Makers, investment experts on Tuesday shared their views on how to best capture alpha from China’s onshore credit and equity markets. Paras Anand pointed to the attraction of China’s fixed-income markets, especially to global investors. “China navigated the 2020 crisis successfully with a lower recourse to monetary […]

The post How to best capture alpha from China’s onshore credit and equity markets appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Two members of Noah Holdings’ senior management team have exited the firm, Asian Private Banker can reveal. According to sources familiar with the matter, Steve Zeng, chief executive officer of Noah International (Hong Kong) Limited, and William Ma, chief investment officer of Noah International (Hong Kong) Limited, have departed the company. Zeng had been chief executive of Noah’s Hong Kong […]

The post Noah Holdings loses two senior execs appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Wealth manager Noah has started looking beyond the traditional long-only China managers, as fund managers in China equities and bonds tend to be “too concentrated” on key themes and investment styles. From a top-down perspective, the “new China economy sector” — such as new energy, 5G, and consumption stories — have remained a top pick for quite a few private […]

The post China managers “too concentrated” on key themes and investment styles: William Ma of Noah Holdings appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

While China’s stock market has soared over the past 12 months on the back of technology and consumption stocks — raising valuation concerns among quite a number of investors — it might be too early to revert to the old economy. “We still favour new economy sectors over the old economy, and it is too early to rotate back to […]

The post Too early to shift back to old economy in China appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The appetite for systematic factor investing has kept growing over the past few years, especially within the DPM business in Asia’s private banking industry. “We have seen interest in factor investing increase materially in Asia in recent years, as market providers have demonstrated the virtue of smart beta strategies for cost-conscious investors,” Jean Chia, head of portfolio management and research […]

The post Demand for factor investing increases “materially” in Asian HNWIs appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Independent wealth manager Noah said it expects to see clients’ portfolio further diversify into traditional assets and move away from alternatives, as a result of a transformation that has rocked China’s wealth management industry. “In China, we are seeing the underlying trend of investors switching from non-standard private assets/deals to standard, transparent, public listed-assets/deals,” William Ma, chief investment officer, Noah […]

The post Regulatory push drives Chinese HNWIs away from private markets: Noah appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Standard Chartered Private Bank is shifting equity exposure from Asia to US and Europe as the bank describes itself is “cautiously optimistic” about the overall risk assets, working from the assumption that the virus outbreak will peak this month. “The strong rebound in risk assets, following the brief pullback caused by the coronavirus outbreak, suggests the market impact of the […]

The post StanChart PB is rebuilding exposure via US and Europe equities appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

This week: Asian equity earnings to recover in 2H20: Noah Holdings’ William Ma; With Brexit done, DBWM expects “bouts of volatility” for GBP and underlying assets; Morgan Stanley: No buying opportunities at this juncture; DBS: Constructive on Europe oil players despite recent correction; Pictet WM downgrades China GDP growth to 5.6% Asian equity earnings to recover in 2H20: Noah Holdings’ William Ma […]

The post CIO Weekly – Featuring Noah Holdings’ William Ma appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

This week: Noah WM says more opportunities will arise from EM than DM; Credit Suisse PB believes markets overestimating Fed rate cuts; LGT PB plays ‘barbell’ by increasing equities and gold; Pictet WM expects four rate cuts from Fed in 2020; and Standard Chartered PB says gold will benefit from the near-term equity market pullback. More opportunities to arise from EM than DM: […]

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This week: Noah’s William Ma believes “being offensive is the best way to stay defensive”; UBS GWM remains neutral on China equities and bonds; BNP Paribas and Pictet WM are optimistic about the effects of India’s tax reform; and Standard Chartered PB says it’s still too early to favour Japan. Noah: “Being offensive is the best way to stay defensive” […]

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This week: Noah Holdings’ William Ma advises investors to buy China A-shares on dips; UBS GWM is positive on Japan equities; Pictet WM expects global equities to perform sideways in the coming weeks; and Standard Chartered PB prefers US equities despite high valuations while J. Safra Sarasin has downgraded the asset class. Noah: Buy China A-shares on dips Noah Holdings’ […]

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The V-shaped recovery in China A-shares hasn’t deterred the region’s private banks and wealth managers from increasing exposure to the market. Instead, industry players are expanding their China product shelves to capitalise on future opportunities. “China today can withstand a certain level of stress versus what was happening in the past cycle,” Vincent Ng, joint CIO, Asia ex-Japan at Nomura Wealth Management, […]

The post China A-share managers in demand despite staggering rally appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

As global economic growth continues to slow despite the year-to-date stock rally, Noah is eyeing more defensive solutions for its high net worth clients, homing in on fixed income funds, counter-cyclical strategies, and multi-asset solutions. “In 2019, we’re planning to launch more fixed income products as clients prefer not to take a lot of risks but they still need stable […]

The post Noah to launch more active bond funds and counter-cyclical strategies in 2019 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Noah Holdings’ discretionary assets have grown to total US$1.1 billion as Chinese high net worth investors increasingly delegate their investment decisions to professionals given uncertainty in the markets. William Ma, CIO of Noah Holdings (Hong Kong), told Asian Private Banker that the wealth manager now has two discretionary portfolios — one for its onshore and another for its offshore family […]

The post DPM gains traction with domestic Chinese investors: Noah’s Ma appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Owing to their relatively easy-to-understand nature, long/short solutions have proved particularly popular amongst Asia’s private wealth managers amid increasingly challenging conditions, according to Pictet Asset Management. “Among under-owned assets, liquid alternatives such as long/short strategies are easily understood relative to macro-, event-driven, or commodity trading advisors (CTAs),” Lawrence Tse, senior vice president at Pictet AM, told Asian Private Banker, highlighting […]

The post Pictet AM’s long/short AUM grows 25%, “fair” amount from Asia PBs appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Wealth managers in Asia are at loggerheads over how clients should approach India’s equity market amidst an economic recovery and monetary tightening. While DBS Private Bank and Noah Holdings believe India will serve as the main growth engine for emerging market Asia, Credit Suisse Private Banking says the market offers only “return-free risks”. Major driver of EM Asia “India should […]

The post Asia’s WMs disagree over India’s equity market appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

J. Safra Sarasin expects US equities to endure another round of volatility spikes due to a steeper yield curve and an elevated level of liquidity. “Our quantitative volatility model is now telling us that investors need to prepare for a significant upward shift in US equity volatility, starting in 2018 and manifesting its full strength in 2019,” the bank said […]

The post J. Safra Sarasin expects “significant upward shift” in US equity turbulence appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

While Asia’s major private banks typically believe that the technical-driven sell-off has already passed, Noah Holdings’ CIO, William Ma, has told APB Mandate that the overconcentration of passive strategies is likely to trigger the next equity correction. According to Bloomberg data, more than a third of all assets in the US are in passive funds, up from about 20% a […]

The post Overconcentration of ETFs is likely to lead to next equity correction: Noah’s Ma appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

“New” or innovative hedge fund products that generate higher returns through front office innovation and customised strategies are finding increasing favour with Asia’s HNWIs and family offices, given their focus on wealth accumulation, according to Elliott Shadforth, EY Asia-Pacific wealth and asset management leader. “Managers in Asia are looking to innovate the front office to generate more alpha – be it […]

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The lack of efficiency and high liquidity in China’s A-share market has made it a “paradise” for hedge funds, according to William Ma, CIO of Noah Holdings (Hong Kong), who highlights superior achievable returns that have attracted investors and asset managers alike. “A simple quant value model generates 8-12% alpha in the China A-share market, which is obviously much higher […]

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Given that volatility is set to rise and asset correlations are likely to further break down, hedge funds are geared for a comeback, private banks tell Asian Private Banker, noting that fees continue to decline and the industry has become more astute when it comes to crowding. Following outflows worth US$109.8 billion in 2016, hedge funds saw inflows amounting to […]

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Noah Holdings is talking to global institutions about co-developing a smart beta strategy that targets China’s domestic A-share market, according to William Ma, CIO of Noah Holdings (Hong Kong). Ma told APB Mandate that the strategy will be focused on equities, adding that because of shorting difficulties in China, the vehicle will likely have a bias towards long positions. He […]

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