HSBC Global Asset Management Taiwan Ltd (匯豐中華投信) is to grow local operations by expanding its management team and launching new funds by the end of this year, chief executive officer Chiao Hsin (焦訢) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The asset management company has about 80 employees, and it would add five senior managers who would be in charge of portfolios and projects, Chiao said.
“The positions would be offered to local talent. We are already interviewing some candidates. It is possible that the positions would be filled in the third quarter,” Chiao said.
Photo: CNA
While it is uncommon for local asset management companies to expand their senior management teams, HSBC Global Asset Taiwan has been committed to deepening its local operations, she said.
The company would also ask for more resources from its parent company to enhance staff training, investment research, risk controls and product design to boost business in the local fund market, Chiao said.
“We have discussed with our overseas investment team the design of a new onshore fund that we plan to launch by the end of this year. We can bring a global perspective in fund design, as HSBC is an international group,” Chiao said.
The company would factor in rate hikes and inflation when it chooses investment targets, as both are expected to persist over the next few years, Chiao said.
The new fund would also have environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors, and would comply with tighter rules that were announced by regulators in January, Chiao said.
While regulators have not specified the types of companies in which ESG-themed funds must not invest, HSBC Global Asset Taiwan would not invest in companies that make tobacco products or alcoholic beverages, or run gambling operations, she said.
“Besides those companies, we will not specifically select industries, as a company in an energy-consuming field could still perform well in ESG,” Chiao said.
MORE RESISTANT
ESG funds are more resistant to risks than other types of funds, as the companies that are chosen by such funds usually have two properties — great scale of operations and good cash flow, Chiao said.
The company has introduced 23 offshore funds to local investors, all of which meet the European Supervisory Authorities’ Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations, Chiao said.
Eight of the funds conform with Article 8 of the regulations, as the companies they invest follow good governance practices and can be called “light green funds,” she said.
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