瑞信资产管理部代理首席执行官Michael J. Rongetti:资产管理行业在中国拥有巨大的发展潜力

全球财富管理论坛2023年会近日在北京隆重召开。本次年会以“高水平开放应对全球变局”为主题,邀请国内外政府及监管部门负责人、国际组织代表、金融机构领袖、专家学者及行业机构代表,聚焦当前全球经济金融领域的热点议题及机遇挑战,展开深入探讨,分享真知灼见,展望前沿趋势,为经济金融领域的开放、合作及高质量发展建言献策。3月18日,瑞信资产管理部代理首席执行官Michael J. Rongetti出席并在“资产管理业再定义:新趋势与新格局”高峰论坛上作主旨发言。

 

Michael J. Rongetti表示,随着中国养老金体系第三支柱新型个人养老金制度的推出,到2025年养老产业规模将高达1.7万亿美元。企业年金和商业保险基金也有望成为中国资本市场的主要长期资金来源。瑞信指出,去年中国资产呈现多元化机会,信贷、大宗商品等另类资产投资以及量化投资策略将为投资者带来收益。中国经济在面临挑战时表现出卓越的韧性,与全球资本市场的接轨将产生积极影响。他认为中国政府制定了宏大的可持续发展目标,清洁技术和可再生能源基础设施项目快速增长。瑞信认为,气候变化和可持续发展问题将长期影响投资者的风险和机遇。金融机构需在决策过程中充分考虑这些因素,通过投资和积极参与被投公司管理,助力社会向低碳和可持续发展转型。瑞信预测主动管理风格将回归。在通胀、高利率特征的市场新格局下,主动型管理机构有机会结合自下而上和自上而下的方法创造价值。新格局有利于另类投资方案,因为这类方案通常从价格错位中获益。

 

首先,衷心感谢全球财富管理论坛,让我有机会在此盛会上发言。

 

中国是助力瑞信发展的关键市场,我们也在华深耕多年。瑞士信贷集团已经在中国经营了60年。在资产管理方面,我们已布局近20年。2005年,瑞信和中国工商银行共同成立了工银瑞信基金管理有限公司(ICBC Credit Suisse Fund Management Co.,Ltd.),即工银瑞信。工银瑞信是国内首家由外资金融机构和大型国有商业银行联合成立的国内基金管理公司,而且这一地位维持了很长一段时间。自工银瑞信成立以来,双方合作不断深入。在两家股东的大力支持之下,工银瑞信也实现了长足发展。工银瑞信拥有丰富的专业知识、广泛的产品能力、出色的经营业绩、领先的市场规模及稳健的业务发展,从各方面来讲,都是中国国内领先的资产管理机构之一。截至2022年6月30日,工银瑞信及旗下子公司管理着216只公募基金,以及多项年金和私人资产管理计划,资产管理总额高达1.78万亿元,养老金管理规模行业领先。此外,公司聘用了150多名投资专业人士,平均行业经验为12.5年。

 

正如我一开始提到的,中国对瑞士信贷集团有着重要的战略意义,能够在中国开展业务是我们的荣幸。我们非常重视与工行的长期伙伴关系,坚信在双方的全力支持下,工银瑞信将继续蓬勃发展。

 

瑞信资产管理有着市场领先的全球化业务平台,为客户提供涵盖市场周期各个阶段的多元化投资策略。为把握住中国金融市场对外开放带来的大好机遇,瑞信资产管理根据自身在亚太区的整体战略部署,先后于2017年和2018年在中国成立了两家全资子公司。2018年7月,瑞信资产管理在中国的外商独资企业(WFOE)成为首批上海合格境内有限合伙人(QDLP)试点企业,获准发起、设立可以开展境外投资的境内私募基金。截至2022年底,瑞信资管中国WFOE已获得4亿美元的QDLP额度;发行了两支投资于境外市场的QDLP基金,资产管理规模超过10亿元人民币。瑞信资产管理的QDLP产品在市场上引起了热烈反响。瑞信资产管理亚太区还与国内多家金融机构保持着密切沟通,与中国投资客户持续开展合作,开发满足其需求和目标的优质产品和服务。此外,作为多家中国行业协会的成员,瑞信积极推动和促进海外资产管理机构在华整体发展,尤其是在上海,我们已成立了两家子公司。我们坚信上海定能逐步发展成为全球一流的资产管理中心。

 

一、中国资管市场拥有巨大潜力

 

瑞信内部曾深入讨论过的一项数据是上世纪60年代这十年间,中国的新增人口数量达到了空前绝后的2.45亿。从2020年起,这代人将逐步退休。相比已经退休的人群,这代人对股票和理财产品投资的接受度更高,投资选择也更加多样化。

 

2022年11月,中国正式推出了作为中国养老金体系第三大支柱的新型个人养老金制度。根据人力资源和社会保障部(MOHRSS)印发的通知,36个城市的居民可以开设个人养老金账户。这标志着中国个人养老金制度正式进入实施阶段,也为2025年预期规模高达1.7万亿美元的养老产业打响了发令枪。

 

中国资产管理行业的光明前景不仅仅源于退休金和养老金带来的庞大需求。资管市场的成熟和成功离不开大量长期机构投资者。企业年金和商业保险基金有望成为中国资本市场机构投资者的主要长期资金来源。比如美国的401(k)就是这样一项长期投资计划。401(k)于上世纪80年代推出,现已成为美国市场的稳定基石。中国监管机构正在推出一系列改革和支持措施,为股市引入更多长线资本,支持此类投资者和投资计划。因此,可以预见A股市场中的长线投资者群体将不断壮大。

 

这些因素证明,资产管理行业在中国拥有巨大的发展潜力,虽然行业已经取得了长足的发展,但仍蕴藏着大量机遇。

 

就金融市场而言,中国资产去年的表现清晰地说明了机遇的存在。资产配置多元化有时会被形容为金融界的唯一免费午餐。一段时间以来,中国国债的多元化特性已经显现,2022年尤为显著。这一年许多其他国家的政府债券随本国股市同步暴跌。然而,去年的情况表明,两者相关性可以发生变化,通过信贷、大宗商品等另类资产投资及量化投资策略实现多元化布局,可能会令投资者受益,而其中一些资产类别恰恰是瑞信资产管理擅长和专注的领域。

 

今世界面临诸多挑战,但中国经济依然展现出了突出的韧性,2023年1月疫情全面放开也将成为一大利好。中国与全球资本市场进一步接轨也将发挥更多积极作用。

 

二、 ESG考量纳入投资流程助力经济转型

 

近年来,全球各国对可持续发展问题的关注显著增强。中国也是如此,政府制定了宏伟的可持续发展目标。各个经济领域和越来越多的行业开始考虑环境、社会和治理 (ESG)问题。

 

中国的环境政策及在减缓气候变化方面的重大投资也在推动清洁技术和可再生能源基础设施项目的快速增长。未来几十年,中国一定会在此方面加速推进,由此为投资者提供显著的机会。

 

瑞信资产管理坚信,通过将ESG考量纳入投资流程,最终可以为客户创造更高的风险调整后的长期投资回报。我们透过可持续发展的视角,了解客户的需求和期望,审慎扩大可持续发展主题产品,力求成为客户值得信赖的合作伙伴。

 

此外,我们还在投票和参与方面加强对被投项目的管理,进一步保护我们为客户管理的投资组合的价值。近年来,我们一直在加速推进与投票和参与相关的各项努力。在参与方面。除了注重与被投公司进行直接沟通,我们还越来越多地致力于参与各项行业倡议,以此增强我们的影响力,创造更大的社会效益。为此,瑞信资管加入了包括国际投资者气候变化联盟(IIGCC)、气候行动 100+、FAIRR 以及国际公司治理网络(ICGN)在内的多个相关组织。

 

2022年3月,瑞信资产管理加入净零排放资产管理人倡议 (Net Zero Asset Managers initiative),这将为我们实现2050年净零排放目标提供进一步支持。另外,瑞信是2021年净零银行业联盟的创始合伙机构,因此这也符合集团的总体净零目标。2022年12月,我们联合瑞信财富管理部发布了一份《气候行动方案》,重申了宏伟计划,概述了我们的目标以及未来几年乃至几十年为实现净零排放将采取的行动。

 

我们认为,气候变化和其他可持续发展问题将受到持续关注,并将在未来几年甚至几十年里继续为投资者带来风险、创造机遇。因此,瑞信以及各家金融机构必须在决策过程中考虑这些因素。我们可以通过投资和积极参与被投公司的管理发挥重要作用,助力社会向低碳和更可持续的经济转型,进而造福我们的客户和社会。

 

三、数字化转型为金融机构带来重大机遇

 

我们预计另一项发展迅速的趋势是数字化。采用“数字化”这一概念的人很多,但真正了解的人少之又少。然而,这对金融服务提供商而言至关重要,因为自助服务、实时数据和分析以及机器学习等功能有可能彻底颠覆投资者与资产管理行业的互动方式。

 

数字化转型为金融机构带来重大机遇,这也是我们一直在投资自动化、完善投资流程和平台的原因。我们认同数字化趋势的诸多益处,因此我们会与客户密切合作,将机构平台的优势与灵活性结合起来,切实满足客户需求。

 

四、主动管理风格的回归

 

另外,我们今年将看到主动管理风格的回归。过去十年,货币政策高度宽松、全球化进一步深化、通胀水平一直维持在较低水平;如今“金发女孩经济”时代的结束似乎已成定论,而波动性仍将保持在较高水平。我们认为,以通胀和高利率为特征的市场新格局会为主动型管理机构带来机遇,这类管理机构可以将自下而上和自上而下的方法结合起来,以此贡献价值。新格局还可能利好另类投资方案,因为这类方案通常会受益于更大幅度的价格错位。

 

瑞信资产管理针对传统和非传统资产类别提供广泛的主动管理解决方案,拥有强大的另类投资和私募投资实力。因此,我们期待可以助力客户应对严峻的市场环境,把握住有吸引力的投资机会。 

 

我们已经在中国看到了其中一些投资机会。就实体经济而言,中国是世界第一的工业强国。虽然受疫情影响,但中国制造业仍展现出了强大的全球竞争力。

 

基于以上几点,我们坚信,随着中国资本市场对外开放的深化,中国资产对于投资者的吸引力也会不断增强。我们也将继续投资拓展在华业务,紧贴客户需求,为中国金融市场的发展贡献力量。

 

 

First of all, I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Global Asset Management Forum for offering me the opportunity to speak at this prestigious event.

 

I’m delighted to be speaking because China is a key growth market for Credit Suisse, and we have a long history in the country. Credit Suisse Group has been operating in China for 60 years. In asset management, we've been present for almost 20 – for, in 2005, Credit Suisse and ICBC jointly established ICBC Credit Suisse Fund Management Co., Ltd., or ICBCCS. ICBCCS was, and for a long time remained, the first domestic fund management company jointly established by a foreign financial institution and a large state-owned commercial bank. And right from its foundation, ICBCCS has continually evolved with the strong support and deep partnership of its joint shareholders. It is on any measure one of the leading domestic asset management institutions in China, with extensive expertise, broad product capabilities, excellent operating performance, market-leading scale, and conservative business development. As of June 30, 2022, ICBC Credit Suisse (including its subsidiaries) managed 216 public funds and a number of annuity and private asset management plans, with total assets under management of 1.78 trillion yuan, ranking it the industry leader in pension management. Moreover, the company employs more than 150 investment professionals with average industry experience of 12.5 years.

 

As I briefly touched upon in my opening remarks, China is of significant strategic importance to Credit Suisse Group, and we are privileged to be operating in this market. We greatly appreciate our long-term partnership with ICBC, and I am certain that ICBCCS will continue to thrive with the full support from our both shareholders.

 

Credit Suisse Asset Management is a global business with franchises that are market-leading. We offer our clients a diversified range of investment strategies for any part of the market cycle. As part of Credit Suisse Asset Management’s overall APAC strategy, and with an eye to China's financial market liberalization, Credit Suisse Asset Management successively established two wholly-owned subsidiaries in China in 2017 and 2018. Credit Suisse Asset Management China WFOE was approved as one of the first of the pilot enterprises for Shanghai Qualified Domestic Limited Partners (QDLP) in July 2018, allowing it to initiate and establish domestic private funds investing overseas. As of the end of 2022, the Credit Suisse Asset Management China WFOE has been granted a QDLP quota for USD 400 million; and has issued two QDLP funds invested in offshore markets with AuM of more than RMB 1 billion. The market has responded enthusiastically to the Credit Suisse Asset Management QDLP products. Credit Suisse Asset Management APAC also maintains close communication with various domestic financial institutions, and constantly works with its Chinese investor clients to develop high-quality products and services that meet their needs and objectives. Credit Suisse also actively participates in many local industry associations to promote and contribute to the overall development of overseas asset management institutions in China, particularly in Shanghai where our two local subsidiaries were established. And we have great confidence that Shanghai is on track to becoming one of the preeminent centers for global asset management. 

 

One piece of data that we have discussed at great length at Credit Suisse, is that in the 1960s, 245 million people were born in China, more than in any other decade before or since. In the 2020s, this generation will retire. This age cohort is more open to investing in stocks and wealth-management products than current retirees and is more diverse in their investment choices. 

 

In addition, in November 2022, China officially launched its new private pension scheme, the third pillar of China's pension system.  The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) issued a notice stating that citizens in 36 cities can begin to open private pension accounts. This officially marks the entry into the implementation stage of the personal pension system in China, and also fires the starting gun on what is expected to become a USD 1.7 trillion industry by 2025. 

 

It’s not just retirement and pensions where China's prospects in asset management shine bright. A large base of long-term institutional investors is a crucial feature in successful mature markets.

Enterprise annuity and commercial insurance funds could become major long-term funding sources for institutional investors in China’s capital market. Meanwhile, an example of a long-term investment scheme is the 401(k) program in the US. Introduced in the 1980s, 401(k) is now a stable cornerstone in the US market. China's regulators are promoting a series of reforms and supportive measures to introduce more long-term capital in the stock market that could support such investors and investment schemes. We therefore anticipate a growing base of investors with long-term investment horizons in the A-share market. 

 

These factors demonstrate the huge potential for asset management growth in China - for an industry which, while having evolved notably, still offers significant opportunities. 

 

Turning to financial markets, the performance of Chinese assets last year illustrates one clear opportunity. Diversification is sometimes described as the only free lunch in finance. The diversification properties of Chinese government bonds have been evident for some time and were notable in 2022 – a year when many other countries' government bonds plunged at the same time as their domestic equities tumbled. Yet the experience of last year shows that correlations can change – and that diversification into areas such as alternatives - including credit, commodities, and quantitative investment strategies - can be beneficial for investors. As it happens, these are some of the asset classes that Credit Suisse Asset Management specializes in. 

 

The world is currently facing many challenges, but the Chinese economy still exhibits marked resilience, and the post-pandemic reopening from January 2023 should prove to be a boon. We also see more benefits to come from the integration of China’s capital markets with the rest of the world.

In recent years, awareness of sustainability issues has increased considerably across the globe. This has also been the case in China, with the Chinese government setting ambitious sustainability targets. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are now being applied to across the economy and in a variety of sectors. 

 

China's environmental policy and significant investments in climate change mitigation are also driving a rapid increase in clean technologies and renewable energy infrastructure projects. These efforts, which are set to accelerate, present a notable opportunity for investors over the next few decades.

 

At Credit Suisse Asset Management, we are convinced that integrating ESG considerations into our investment processes can ultimately lead to better long-term risk-adjusted investment returns for our clients. We seek to be trusted partners to our clients by understanding their needs and expectations through the lens of sustainability, and by judiciously expanding our suite of sustainable products. 

 

In addition, we are also intensifying our active ownership activities in the area of both voting and engagement, aiming to further protect the value of portfolios we manage for clients. We have accelerated both our voting and engagement efforts in recent years. In the area of engagement we do not only focus on direct engagement with our investee companies but are also increasingly committed to multiple sector initiatives which should strengthen our reach as well as the impact we can make. We do this for example through platforms such as the International Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Climate Action 100+, FAIRR and the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN). 

 

In March 2022, Credit Suisse Asset Management joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, which further supports our ambition to achieve net zero by 2050 and is in line with the overall net zero ambitions of Credit Suisse Group, a founding partner of the Net Zero Banking Alliance in 2021. Our Climate Action Plan, which was published in December 2022 in collaboration with Credit Suisse Wealth Management, reaffirms our ambition as well as outlining our goals and the action we will take over the coming years and decades to achieve net zero. 

 

In our view, climate change and other sustainability issues in general will continue to be in focus and will continue to create risks and drive opportunities for investors over the years and decades to come. It is therefore essential for financial institutions such as Credit Suisse to incorporate these considerations into our decision-making. Through the investments we make and through our role as an active owner, we can play an important role in supporting society's transition to a low-carbon, and more sustainable economy, benefiting both our clients and society.

 

Another trend that we anticipate will develop rapidly is digitalization. It is a term that is frequently used, but rarely understood. Yet it is crucial for financial service providers, since capabilities such as self-service, real-time data and analytics, and machine learning have the potential to completely transform the way in which investors interact with the asset management industry. 

 

Digital transformation represents a major opportunity for financial institutions, which is why we continue to invest in automation and improvements to our processes and platforms. We have embraced the benefits of digitalization and work closely with our clients, combining the strength of an institutional platform with the flexibility to meet their needs.

 

Something else we're expecting to observe over the course of this year is a renewed focus on active management. After a decade of highly accommodative monetary conditions, increased globalization and dampened inflation, the goldilocks era would seem to be firmly behind us, with volatility likely to remain elevated. The new market regime, characterized by inflation and higher interest rates, should, in our view, provide active managers with opportunities to add value through a combination of bottom‐up and top‐down approaches. It could also favor alternative investment solutions, which tend to benefit from larger price dislocations.

 

At Credit Suisse Asset Management, we offer a broad range of actively managed solutions in both traditional and non-traditional asset classes, with strong capabilities in alternative investments and private markets. As such, we are looking forward to supporting our clients as they navigate this challenging environment and seek to capture attractive opportunities. 

 

Some of those opportunities can clearly be seen in China. In terms of the real economy, China has the largest industrial sector in the world. And despite the impact of the pandemic, China's manufacturing industry demonstrated its strong global competitiveness.

 

To sum up, we firmly believe that with the continued opening-up of China's capital markets, Chinese assets will be increasingly attractive to investors. We will continue to invest in the development of our business in China, stay close to our clients, and seek to contribute meaningfully to the development of China's financial markets.

 

*以上为瑞信资产管理部代理首席执行官Michael J. Rongetti于2023年3月18日在全球财富管理论坛2023年会“资产管理业再定义:新趋势与新格局”高峰论坛上作的主旨发言。

 

文字整理:周倩

责任编辑:张逸君

创建时间:2023-04-27
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