How the final four award winners were chosen
This is our last installment of detailed write-ups explaining how our last four Asset Management Award winners were chosen.
We previoulsy said that four awards across different categories would be announced on May 18 at a gala dinner in Hong Kong.
We announced a shortlist of two contenders for each of the awards.
The award winners participated in an awards ceremony at our gala dinner -- and event that brought together other award winners, asset owners and the judges.
Congratulations again to the winners and nominees and a big thank you to our esteemed judging panel for their valuable insights and assessments.
Fund House of the Year - Southeast Asia
Sucorinvest Asset Management
In a high-octane emerging market like Indonesia growth is a given, but Sucorinvest Asset Management pulled out the stops in 2022 to secure more runs on the board than most.
What impressed judges about this submission was the solid growth performance of the group, a testament to hard work and strong teamwork.
Its total asset under management (AUM) continued to grow rapidly to IDR 37.03 trillion, (US$2.49 billion) increasing 38.88% compared to the previous year. This officially placed Sucorinvest among the top 3 of the 85 asset management houses in Indonesia.
Meanwhile its Sucorinvest Stable Fund (SSF) became the fastest growing fixed income mutual fund in Indonesia with more than IDR 13.7 trillion AUM.
With increasing demand for lower volatility, the fund returned 6.18%, an outstanding achievement compared with its benchmark of 1.32%.
The total number of investors across its distribution channels reached 760,476 single investor identification (SID), accounting for 7.92% of total industry market share, growing 40.07% in 2022.
Judges also noted Sucorinvest’s inroads into promoting financial inclusion, increasing the number of Indonesian investors exponentially.
“Our retail investors continued to dominate, accounting for 68.42% of our total investor base, while our institutional clients stood at 31.58%,” Sucorinvest said in its pitch.
“Over 90% of our investors are aged below 40, contributing 55% of retail investors' AUM, making us the ‘millennials’ favourite’ for growing their assets.”
The asset manager launched a total of six new products last year: one open-ended fund; two capital protected funds; and three discretionary funds. This was a response in part to institutional client demands for products that promoted higher liquidity and the need for indexing.
Fund House of the Year - Hong Kong
Hang Seng Investment Management
Solid growth from a trusted name in a challenging year, judges found it difficult to go past Hang Seng Investment Management Limited (HSVM) which returned solid growth despite global uncertainties.
The investment house shrugged off these challenges to deliver a remarkable asset under management growth of more than 70% as compared with the previous year.
Total AUM of HSVM reached over $HK318 billion (US$40 billion) as of December 2022, representing a year-on-year growth of more than 70%.
With a total of nine Hong Kong-listed ETFs under management, HSVM was the largest ETF manager in the city. The total AUM of all its ETFs combined stood at HK$169 billion, an approximately 43% share in Hong Kong's ETF market in terms of AUM.
Investment in its people, infrastructure and brand awareness, the group said, all contributed to the stellar double-digit result.
HSVM further enriched its portfolio of ESG-focused investment products with the launch of the HSI ESG Enhanced Select Index ETF in February 2022. This was the first SFC-authorised ESG-themed ETF tracking the Hang Seng Index.
In September 2022, HSVM officially took up its new role as manager of TraHK (Tracker Fund of Hong Kong) and since then has been the largest ETF manager in Hong Kong.
Its offering as far as mainland China is concerned has been second to none. Of the first four ETFs that were made available for southbound trading under the ETF Connect scheme, two are managed by HSVM.
Asia Fund House of the Year
JP Morgan Asset Management
JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) caught the eye of judges with a strong submission focused on expanded offerings in sustainability and heightened confidence in a resurgent China.
With more than US$2.4 trillion in assets under management (AUM) globally, the asset manager has come through the challenges of 2022 to emerge stronger than ever, building out its sustainable fund business and expanding the possibilities of its alternatives and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In China, it gained regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of China International Fund Management (CIFM) which will now operate under the brand name of JPMAM China.
The move was described by Asia Pacific chief executive officer Dan Watkins as part of the JPMAM’s “long-standing commitment to China”.
In terms of ETFs, the fund house continued to push the boundaries, offering four active ETF shares in Australia: Climate Change Solutions; Sustainable Infrastructure; Global Research Enhanced Index Equity; and JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF .
Add to this its carbon transition China equity UCITS ETF and China fixed income ETFs, and JPMAM has seen a year of heightened activity and innovation in ETFs, widening the scope of its offerings.
Concentration on ESG as well as advances in sustainable investing were commendable.
In Hong Kong, it launched its first SFC-authorised ESG HK Unit Trust, and in Taiwan in September, its first ESG fund was registered there.
Best Environmental Investment Strategy Adviser
Fidelity International
Strong case studies and a range of ESG initiatives that covered a broad spectrum from workplace bullying to biodiversity ensured that Fidelity was our Best Environmental Investment Strategy Adviser for 2022.
Judges were impressed by the sheer variety of case studies displaying strong engagement on many of key ESG themes.
In 2022, the fund’s management team carried out 26 ESG engagements and four engagements around proxy voting for companies held in the portfolio.
The results are a gold standard for the sector, showing the way for investors that want to engage the companies they invest in.
In China, Fidelity engaged a domestic gas supplier in late 2021 before any position was initiated to get comfortable with the management around key ESG issues including water usage, emissions associated with gas transportation, and occupational health and safety.
The subsequent report not only provided investors with an overview of a well-run enterprise that uses around uses around 0.6% of revenues on environment-related investments every year, but also helped to lift the gas company’s game for future ESG scoring.
While 2022 was a challenging year, the Fidelity showed that sustainability really is the path to outperformance. The FF Sustainable Asia Equity Fund outperformed its reference index (MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index (Net)) in calendar year 2022 by 2.0 percentage points for the A-USD version of the strategy.