HSBC Securities Services has been mandated as custodian and fund services provider by Korea-based KB Asset Management for its Korean Equities Ucits Sicav fund.
The fund is aimed at both institutional and retail investors in Europe and Asia. Carol Hughes, head of client services at HSBC Luxembourg, told Funds Europe that her firm has seen a large number of Asian fund houses replicating investment strategies in European regulated funds in order to access and distribute to European investors and even sometimes back into Asia.
She added that the trend has been underway for some time but not only from Asia. Fund houses from the Americas and Asia are coming to Europe to unlock new distribution opportunities through differentiating and targeted investment strategies.
“Regardless of the fund houses domicile we are able to offer global solutions covering all time zones,” said Hughes.
According to Hughes, fund managers are using HSBC to service both passive and active strategies using the firm’s “capability” in exchange-traded funds or traditional funds across Asia and Europe. The demand from Asia is being driven by the continuing liberalisation of Chinese markets, said Hughes.
KB Asset Management is the fourth largest asset manager in Korea with assets of $47 billion (€43 billion) as of October 31, 2016. Hughes said that the Korean firm is an existing client of HSBC in Asia and the move to appoint HSBC in Luxembourg “was seen as a natural extension of our services from one region to another”.
©2016 funds europe
