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Julius Baer launches downsized China fund

The bank aims to invest mostly in value-driven A-shares. Its fund started trading two weeks ago and has raised $65 million already, with a Europe roadshow on the horizon.
Julius Baer launches downsized China fund

Swiss private bank Julius Baer has launched a private-placement China fund for its wealthy clientele that it plans to market to its European investors later this month.

The firm initially applied for a $200 million qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) quota, but then downsized this to $100 million on account of turbulent market conditions, says Kenneth Ho, Asia-Pacific head of products for Julius Baer.

It received its $100 million quota in mid-May, after which it has six months to deploy the money. The fund, which began trading two weeks ago, can invest up to 30% into H-shares and fixed income and up to 70% in A-shares.

Ho says the preference is for it to comprise 90% equities, including the full 70% A-share exposure. The target size is, in fact, $110 million, with the additional $10 million invested in H-shares. Of that total, the bank has raised $65 million already and is due to start its Europe roadshow on August 28. Ho concedes it will be a tougher sell in Europe, and expects a far stronger take-up in Greater China.

Julius Baer has selected Hong Kong-licensed Simon Murray and Company as its advisory asset manager. The firm has a 10-strong research team based in Shanghai. “They are very much bottom-up, looking for value-driven companies, and they go on 200 company visits per year. We like that approach,” says Ho.

The new fund joins a suite of existing China funds at Julius Baer, with third-party products from Schroders, GAM and BNP Paribas Fortis. “These other funds are more benchmark index type plays, while ours focuses on value-driven stocks in the consumer and infrastructure sectors,” he adds.

Asked whether this was the right time to launch a fund, given ongoing volatility in China’s stock markets, he replies: “I cannot time any market. What I do know is that the Chinese government has put a lot of measures in place which are just taking effect. When the economy stabilises and investors are reassured, they will come back in.”

He points out that A-shares provide attractive diversification benefits to investors owing to their low correlation to other global markets. "Both A- and H-share premiums have contracted to historically low levels, meaning that valuations are now reasonable," he adds.

Julius Baer became the first – and so far only – standalone international private bank to gain a qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) licence, on December 14 last year. Over 110 international firms have QFII licences, including a wide range of banks and asset managers.

However, how much allocation their private wealth clients get to the A-share market, and how much priority they are given within an integrated firm housing an investment bank and an asset management business, is a matter of conjecture.

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