Sponsored Statement
Growth potential luring assets eastward
Category: Asia, China, Hong Kong
AXA IM gearing up for growing investor wealth in the region
Sponsored
Knowing that their first priority must be to select a mature and reliable asset manager, many large institutional investors, especially those now focusing on the Asian region to grow their wealth, are putting their faith in AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM), the wholly-owned asset management vehicle of AXA Group.
As the company fine-tunes its risk management expertise, AXA IM executives – all of whom have a clear understanding of their clients’ needs and expectations – are gearing up to accommodate a burgeoning demand for equities, fixed income products and alternative means of growing investor wealth in the region.
Jean-Pierre Leoni, Head of Asia-Pacific at AXA IM and a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee, notes that investors are now demanding greater risk management expertise from their asset managers, due to the different issues and volatility faced by the market these past few years.
“We bring our multi-expert model to the region,” says Mr. Leoni.
There is a growing need in Asia for products that embody real estate, fund of hedge funds (FoHFs), private equity, infrastructure and equities, as well as fixed income, he says. “As a multi-expert manager handling traditional as well as alternative asset classes, AXA IM is well placed to spread risk while growing investor wealth.”
With regard to global fixed income space, “there is still a strong appetite for US high yield, global high yield, and products linked to global inflation and emerging market debt, says Mr. Leoni. “However, we also see opportunities in European real estate in which large institutional clients in this region are interested.”
By end-September this year, AXA IM had around US$690 billion worth of assets under management (AUM) globally, which places the firm amongst the top 20 asset managers in the world.
Terence Lam, Head of Sales and Marketing, emphasises the huge potential in Asia. “Our way of working is suitable for Asian investors, most of whom have had little exposure to the many strategically worthwhile products AXA IM can bring to the table such as Private Equity, Real Estate, Funds of Hedge Funds, High Yield Fixed Income as examples. Such low penetration in this market provides us with a unique opportunity for regional expansion because the firm’s investment process focuses on risk adjusted performance.”
Mr. Lam asserts that investors who previously bought into the traditional asset class before the global financial crisis (GFC) now have an appetite for alternatives. Indeed, he says, an increasing number of local investors are interested in new, less familiar strategies.
Risk aversion
Since the GFC, investors now better understand risk management, says Mr. Leoni. Those who previously had faith in the money market now find that regionally, returns from this source are close to zero. Attitudes are now more risk-averse as investors realise there is no safe haven across existing asset classes.
However, Mr. Leoni is not convinced that institutional investors are “sitting on the sidelines” because, “pension funds and insurance companies have to have a long-term perspective.”
Asia is a young pension market compared to Europe and so regional clients are more likely to assume risk, while being well-prepared in the context of the investment process and risk management system, especially given recent market issues.
According to Mr. Lam, some institutional investors are astute enough to “walk into private equity and alternative investment deals” when the market is in limbo. “Before they come on board with us, they’ve spent a lot of time understanding our investment process and risk management system,” he says.
AXA IM maintains a “heads up” attitude in terms of products in the pipeline and brand-building. The group is rapidly developing an Asian presence, says Mr. Lam, with client sectors that include corporate and family offices, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, in conjunction with third-party distribution associates such as private banks and insurer-linked platforms.
China
Mr. Lam says AXA IM is working hard to form a representative office in Beijing, China, for which Ms. Du Ying, director at AXA IM Hong Kong, is the designated Chief Representative Officer. “We obviously recognise the vast importance to our business that China – and our presence there – represents.”
Enhancing the operational support
Mark Barry, AXA IM Global Head of Client Operations and Client Reporting, has moved from Europe to Asia temporarily to facilitate operational services in the region and to help smoothen the transitional process when welcoming new clients on board. Servicing its clients is an area AXA IM is fully emerged in as the company has a complete understanding of investor needs and the importance of keeping them fully in the picture.
For more information, please contact:
Terence Lam
Head of Sales & Marketing Asia – Managing Director
AXA Investment Managers Asia Limited
Suites 5701-4, One Island East,
18 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay,
Hong Kong
Direct: +852 2285 2034
Fax: +852 2285 2999
Email: terence.lam@axa-im.com
Discuss: Growth potential luring assets eastward