04/03/2020

JPMorgan to buy 49 per cent stake in China International Fund Management (CIFM) from its Chinese partner, Shanghai International Trust, with which it co-founded CIFM in 2004. CIFM has 150 billion yuan of assets under management. With US$2 trillion assets under management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s full ownership of its China business could bolster its onshore research capability too.

China’s ongoing pension reforms, allowing employees’ salaries to be invested in bonds and equities will continue to bolster its mutual fund sector, said analysts. Total assets under management had grown to 16.36 trillion yuan (US$2.31 trillion) as of February, with 143 fund managers, according to data from the Asset Management Association of China. The top three foreign managers in China were UBS Asset Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and BlackRock, according to an October survey by financial services firm Broadridge, which asked 1,500 retail investors in China to rank 60 global managers based on a scorecard.

In addition, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley to take control of mainland joint ventures as China opens up financial sector. Goldman Sachs Group is allowed to increase its shareholding in Goldman Sachs Gaohua from 33% to 51%, and Morgan Stanley's shareholding in Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities will increase from 49% to 51%.