Assets in Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund have more than doubled since 2008, accounting for about 63.5% of retirement investable assets despite the lack of clarity over fund expense ratios, according to Cerulli Associates.
Equity funds were popular in Hong Kong during the third quarter notching up net inflows of US$1.8bn, while bonds funds suffered net outflows of US$2.7bn, according to the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association.
VAM Funds has Hong Kong next in its sights, with the aim of entering this key Asian market during the course of next year.
James Bolus, chief executive of International Financial Services Hong Kong, and Mark Kirkham, chief executive of Hong Kong-based Platinum Financial Services, were among five individuals elected to the general committee of the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers last week.
Manulife Asset Management, the global asset management arm of Canada-based Manulife Financial has expanded its sales network into the European institutional market.
Nordea Asset management has established its first distribution team in Singapore.
Cerulli Associates forecasts investable assets of Asia ex-Japan institutions to hit US$17trn (£10.55trn) by 2017, representing a compound annual growth rate of 10%, led by the Southeast Asian region.
The Financial Services Development Council of Hong Kong has published proposals to broaden the fund structures permitted in the territory, including open-ended investment companies, in a bid to attract more funds to domicile locally.
Asset managers in Singapore are highly receptive to plans for a new investment fund framework, with about 90% preferring an open-ended investment company structure, according to a PwC survey.
Manulife Holdings Berhad, the Malaysian arm of Canada's Manulife Financial, has agreed to acquire MAAKL Mutual, a Malaysian unit trust company, from the MAA Group Berhad and other shareholders.
Fullerton Fund Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Temasek Holdings, will be appointing Bedlam Asset Management's Ian McCallum as a portfolio manager.
Affluent Singaporeans are more likely to seek advice from a financial adviser before making an investment decision than their counterparts in Hong Kong and the UAE, according to a new Friends Provident International survey.
