Fund manager springs into Asia (hktdc.com)


	James Campion is spearheading Threadneedle's expansion into Asia

UK fund house Threadneedle has launched operations in Asia with the opening of a Hong Kong office. The London-based firm is one of Europe's leading asset managers, with more than US$110 billion under management at the end of August 2008.

The move to Hong Kong is a bid to win more business in this fast-growing, but highly competitive region, and importantly, it is where many of the firm's existing clients are based.

"We had 32 funds already registered in Hong Kong through our long-standing relationship with Zurich Insurance," said James Campion, who was appointed Head of Asia Distribution to spearhead the group's expansion. Based in Asia since 1998, Mr Campion said Hong Kong not only has a well- developed mutual fund industry itself, but is also a central hub for developing opportunities in the other key markets in North Asia. "Most of the expertise for entering the China market is in Hong Kong."

Ideal launchpad

Threadneedle has been eyeing Asia for years, but wanted to assess opportunities across the region and "enter the market in a measured way." Hong Kong makes the best platform, Mr Campion continued, because of its large pool of talent, a growing private banking community, increasing private wealth with increasing investment sophistication, "and, of course, is the gateway to an enormous opportunity in China."

"Hong Kong is an international city where English is the language of business. It has rule of law, which gives investors confidence, and the skills, infrastructure and fantastic work ethic that companies need when they are extending services across the region."

Geographically, Hong Kong is also central to the key markets of Taiwan, Korea and the Chinese mainland, where much of Threadneedle's future client base is likely to reside. "It is easy to get to every market from Hong Kong," he said.

Importantly, Mr Campion added that these markets have been less exposed to the financial crisis in the United States, as Asian people tend to be less dependent on debt.

Top-tier clientele

In terms of distribution, Threadneedle will initially focus on the Hong Kong and Singapore markets, where it hopes to sell through top-tier private banks serving Asia's fast-growing pool of millionaires. These include UBS AG, HSBC Holdings and Citigroup Inc.

"Both Hong Kong and Singapore have seen a huge growth in private banking, a distribution channel with which we have been working for many years very successfully and where we already have many global relationships that we hope to expand to Asia. This will be a key focus for Threadneedle," Mr Campion said. "And we feel that we have an edge, even in such a competitive market and as a newcomer, because we understand that private bankers need a range of products to suit all market conditions in order to give them the edge with their clients: Threadneedle can offer that and we are nimble enough to maintain this advantage."

Growth plan met

Following its Hong Kong launch, Threadneedle will open an office in Singapore this month, completing its growth plan for 2008.

Mr Campion said Asia is important to Threadneedle "because it is important to our clients." "We are very client-focused, and we know that this is the right time to be launching in Asia and expanding our global relationships here to support their need for our products. We have been investing in Asia for many years already, so it is a region we know and understand well."