Published by Asia Asset Management – 25th Oct 2018
Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) (Ping An AM) has formed a strategic partnership with UK asset manager Merian Global Investors to expand its third-party asset management business.
The move follows their tie-up in March where Ping An AM began providing advisory services for the Merian China Equity Fund.
Ping An AM is the international investment arm of Shenzhen-based Ping An Insurance (Group) (Ping An), one of the largest insurers in China.
Under the new pact, Ping An AM and Merian Global Investors will “work together to explore business development opportunities in the fund distribution, marketing and investment advisory space including knowledge sharing and training”, Ping An says in a statement on October 23.
According to Hoi Tung, co-chief investment officer of Ping An, the partnership “marks the beginning of our successful transformation to becoming a truly third-party asset manager from purely managing our in-house capital by leveraging our strength in local market knowledge and investment expertise”.
Richard Buxton, Merian Global Investors’ chief executive officer, adds that “access to the local knowledge and investment advisory expertise of a specialist Chinese asset manager will be of great benefit to our clients”.
The statement did not provide financial details of the partnership, and a Ping An spokesperson declines to disclose the value of third-party business which Ping An AM will undertake through the deal.
According to Ping An’s latest annual report, the group had 2.36 trillion RMB (US$340.1 billion) of third-party assets and 305.8 billion RMB of internally managed assets at the end of 2017.
Merian Global Investors had approximately £34.6 billion ($44.9 billion) of total assets at the end of August 2018.
