China Focus Pays Dividends
How do foreign firms stack up in the hotly-contested Chinese asset management market? A new study provides a glimpse of UBS, J.P. Morgan and Blackrock.
Zurich-based UBS ranks as the top-performing overseas asset manager in China, according to a report from Shanghai-based consultancy Z-Ben Advisors. The Swiss bank moved ahead of U.S. rival J.P. Morgan to snag the top spot, with the asset management arm of the U.K.'s Schroders in third place.
As with most foreign firms, China forms the main prong of UBS' Asian ambitions. The bank won its private fund management license last year, making it the first foreign asset manager to launch an onshore equity fund for local investors.
According to UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, the next growth step in China will come from wealth management. Against this backdrop, the Swiss bank plans to employ about 1,200 people in China by year-end. This would be ahead of schedule: UBS two years ago announced its intention to double the workforce within five years.
