Canadian wealth firm enters China’s private funds market

Montreal-headquartered company already directly holds a 13.9% stake in China Asset Management

China

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Power Corporation of Canada’s wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), Power Sagard (Shanghai) Investment Management, has received a private fund management (PFM) licence from the Asset Management Association of China (Amac) on Monday, according to Amac records.

A PFM licence enables foreign entities to develop and sell funds investing in onshore assets to domestic qualified investors, which include institutional and high net worth investors.

Our sister publication Fund Selector Asia contacted the firm, but it was not able to provide additional information in time for publication.

Power Corporation’s WFOE was established in April last year, with a registered capital of $6m (£, €), according to Amac.

A decade in China

But this is not the first time that the firm has entered the Chinese market.

In 2011, Power Corporation acquired a 10% stake in Beijing-based China Asset Management (China AMC), which was increased to 13.9% in 2017, according to a statement from the Canadian firm.

In addition, Toronto-based Mackenzie Investments, an indirect subsidiary of Power Corporation, also holds a 13.9% interest in China AMC.

Mackenzie Investments is a subsidiary of Winnipeg-based IGM Financial, which is a member of Power Corporation.

Both Power Corporation and Mackenzie Investments hold a combined 27.8% interest in China AMC.

The firm also has other affiliates and subsidiaries elsewhere, including Putnam Investments, PanAgora Asset Management and Irish Life.

Other PFM holders

In total, at least 26 PFM licence holders have received approval to launch 86 PFM products, according to data from Amac.

Among foreign asset managers, UBS Asset Management has the most number of PFM products with 16 funds, followed by Hong Kong-based Value Partners, which has 11 PFM funds.

Those that obtained the PFM qualification this year include Income PartnersRussell InvestmentsSchroder Adveq and BEA Union Investment.

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