Schroder Investment Management (Shanghai) Limited (Schroders Shanghai), the wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) of Schroders plc in Mainland China, today announced the launch of its first domestic private fund. The Fund (Chinese name: 施罗德中国智汇一号私募基金) invests primarily in China’s A-share market, leveraging Schroders’ on-the-ground research capabilities.
This development reinforces Schroders Shanghai’s commitment to creating investment strategies that serve the unique investment needs of eligible high net worth and institutional investors on the mainland, and follows the firm’s receipt of the qualification of private securities investment fund manager (PFM) status from the Asset Management Association of China in December 2017.
The Fund is managed by Jack Lee, Head of China A-share Research, with research support provided by Schroders’ Greater China Investment Team. The research supporting team consists of 23 on-the-ground fund managers and analysts across Greater China who on average have 15 years of investment experience. Relevant members in the team have a relatively solid track record in managing a number of Greater China equities funds that are rated four-star and above by Morningstar (as of 30 April 2018).
Lieven Debruyne, CEO, Asia, Schroders, said: “The launch of our first domestic private fund marks a major milestone in Schroder’s presence in mainland China. This is a solid demonstration of our years of dedication to the market, from providing relevant investment solutions for local investors to nurturing a strong team of local research and investment talent. We remain as committed as ever in developing insights and relevant investment solutions to address the needs of Mainland Chinese investors, and look to accelerate our business development this year and beyond to further broaden our footprint.”
David Guo, Head of Chinese Business, Schroders, said: “On-the-ground expertise is essential when investing in China A-shares. Our new private fund draws on our team’s strong local market knowledge and benefits from the group’s experience in managing assets for clients from around the world. We have invested heavily in our research resources over the years, and are committed to expanding our professional research capabilities in China. We are focused on identifying opportunities in mainland China that could provide value to the portfolio and investors over the long run.”
Jack Lee, Head of China A-share Research, said: “With a universe of over 3,500 stocks, China’s A-share market is by far the largest Chinese equity market and the world’s second largest equity market by market cap. We see this market as one of the most attractive in the world for generating relatively higher returns for our investors. We believe active, fundamental driven stock-picking is the best approach to exploit market inefficiencies as many of the best investment ideas have not been well-researched. By leveraging on our rigorous bottom-up fundamental research, we have a lot of conviction in the companies we choose to invest in, preferring to have a concentrated number of stocks that are well-placed to grow under a wide range of macroeconomic outcomes.”
Since starting the China business more than 20 years ago, Schroders has built up a wealth of experience in managing solutions-based investment strategies for institutional and individual investors. Over the years, Schroders has progressed together with China’s asset management industry, and is one of the first to establish a joint venture company, and offer Mainland China’s Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) relevant services. It also launched the first Asian multi-asset income strategy under the Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) scheme.
The views and opinions contained herein are those of Schroders’ investment teams and/or Economics Group, and do not necessarily represent Schroder Investment Management North America Inc.’s house views. These views are subject to change. This information is intended to be for information purposes only and it is not intended as promotional material in any respect.