Recently, GAM, a global asset management company that originated in the Western financial center, established a strategic alliance with Sun Hung Kai, which originated in Oriental Financial Center and has accumulated deep advantages locally, on business cooperation in Greater China.

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 18, GAM Investments (GAM) (“GAM”), an independent investment management company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and Sun Hung Kai Limited (00086), a leading alternative investment institution in Hong Kong, announced the establishment of a new strategic alliance. The cooperation between the two sides will take effect on August 1, 2024.

Under the new strategic alliance, Sun Hung Kai will be responsible for the distribution and customer service of GAM's funds in Greater China, aiming to promote business growth and distribution between the two parties in Greater China (Hong Kong, Mainland, Taiwan and Macau) and enhance customer coverage and service capabilities.

With strong alliances, the Greater China region will form a strong business strategic collaboration

A proactive and independent global asset management company, GAM was founded in 1983 and now has offices in 14 countries, forming a global distribution network across all continents. As of the end of 2023, the total assets managed by GAM were CHF 63.8 billion, of which the investment management scale was CHF 19.3 billion and the fund management services were CHF 44.7 billion.

Sun Hung Kai was founded in 1969. With its roots in Asia and a diversified portfolio, Sun Hung Kai has become a leading financial institution in Hong Kong, and is highly recognized in the field of alternative investment and wealth management. As of December 31, 2023, the Group's total assets were approximately HK$41 billion.

As a result, the strategic alliance between GAM and Sun Hung Kai is also regarded by the industry as a strong alliance between two investment companies with a long history and excellent reputation from the financial centers of East and West, respectively.

According to the Zhitong Finance App, GAM has been deeply involved in business in the Greater China region for nearly 40 years, and the current alliance between the two parties mainly revolves around GAM's business in the Greater China region.

In response to this alliance, the two sides will further expand GAM's existing products to cover high-confidence stocks, professional fixed income, diversified assets, sustainable investments, and continuously growing alternative investment solution capabilities. The products will be provided to customers through batch channels, family offices and institutions.

Hong Kong has always been committed to promoting the development of the international wealth and asset management industry, and has now become one of the largest cross-border wealth management centers in Asia. In recent years, Hong Kong has also become the preferred location for more and more ultra-high net worth groups to set up family offices. According to Deloitte's estimates, by the end of 2023, there were about 2,700 single family offices in Hong Kong. If you add multi-family offices, this number exceeds that number. Family offices are booming in Hong Kong.

This is accompanied by an increase in demand from ultra-high net worth groups in various areas such as wealth planning, wealth preservation, and financial investment in Hong Kong, including demand for alternative investment solutions such as private equity and hedge funds. Darren Bowdern, KPMG's managing partner for alternative investments in Hong Kong, China, once said that Hong Kong is one of the regions with the highest concentration of professional investors, and he believes Hong Kong's alternative investment industry has bright prospects.

Using this industry to develop Dongfeng, this strategic alliance will help GAM expand its product range in Greater China, and will also help strengthen its fund's distribution network and customer service capabilities in Greater China; for Sun Hung Kai, this alliance will further diversify the investment products the company provides to customers, and its own funds will also be able to cover a wider range of customers.

It is worth mentioning that in order to ensure a seamless connection, Sun Hung Kai will use GAM's operating processes, systems and local Hong Kong employees in this partnership to ensure consistent service quality and experience.

Overall, the strategic alliance between GAM and Sun Hung Kai will have a strong synergy effect between their businesses, further expand the distribution network, and boost the business growth of both parties.

Both fund management and investment management businesses were boosted to accelerate the transformation to leading alternative investment platforms

According to the Zhitong Finance App, in this strategic alliance, the distribution and customer service of GAM's funds in Greater China will be responsible for Sun Hung Kai Capital Partners Ltd. (“SHKCP”), a subsidiary of Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission under the supervision of Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission.

In Sun Hung Kai's business structure, SHKCP is responsible for operating fund management services and holds Class I, Class 4 and Class 9 licenses from the Securities Regulatory Commission.

Since its inception in 2021, Sun Hung Kai's fund management business has developed rapidly, and its fund partners/owned fund lineup has continued to expand. As the company continues to build and optimize the platform, SHKCP had 7 fund partners/own funds at the end of 2023.

It is worth mentioning that in 2023, the company's fund management business achieved a landmark development during the year. Net profit before tax during the year reached HK$16.8 million, ushering in a new cycle of break-even. This collaboration with GAM will help Sun Hung Kai's fund management business to further expand the customer coverage of the company's fund management business.

In response to this alliance, Sun Hung Kai's Deputy CEO Tony Edwards mentioned that the strategic alliance perfectly combines the strengths and resources of both parties and will significantly enhance the customer service and investment solution development capabilities of both parties.

In the future, Sun Hung Kai will further deepen cooperation with GAM to jointly explore more business cooperation opportunities, especially in the field of alternative investment, and cooperate to develop more new products and investment solutions to meet the diverse investment needs of customers, thereby promoting business growth between the two parties.

As a leader in the consumer finance industry in Hong Kong, Sun Hung Kai is also strategically transforming into a leading alternative investment platform while developing its credit business. This collaboration between Sun Hung Kai Company and GAM is to further promote the development of fund management business on the basis of utilizing the company's own excellent investment management capabilities, and will help the company accelerate its transformation into a leading alternative investment platform.