Global asset managers that struck out on their own in China after Beijing relaxed ownership rules have captured just 0.1 per cent of the market in five years, confounding the hopes pinned on the mainland’s mutual funds industry.
BlackRock, Fidelity, Neuberger, Allianz, AllianceBernstein and Schroders all set up wholly owned mutual fund businesses after China opened up the sector in 2020 and have invested about $800mn between them, data from consultancy Z-Ben Advisors shows.
But they have succeeded in attracting only Rmb34bn ($5bn) of the market’s Rmb36.5tn in assets as of the end of the first quarter, highlighting the scale of the challenge for foreign financial institutions that had banked on China opening up for future growth.