Mirae Asset enters Hong Kong's retail market
Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) has launched the Mirae Asset Global Discovery Fund, its first retail fund in Hong Kong.
The fund was incorporated in Luxembourg in April 2008 as a Sicav open-end fund. It is a collective investment scheme that allows investors to combine their investments into a shared pool with other investors to create a portfolio of assets. Mirae Asset is the principal investment manager and global distributor for these funds.
The fund, which received its Securities & Futures Commission approval last month, operates under an umbrella fund structure enabling investors to choose between one or more investment objectives by investing in one or more sub-funds. Investors can choose any number of sub-funds available to suit their specific risk and return expectations as well as their diversification needs. All sub-funds are managed with the same investment philosophy and by the same management team of the existing Korea-domiciled funds.
Mirae Asset adheres to the investment principles of "investing in value, managing risk effectively, and applying contrarian principles", says John Yang, director of regional sales and marketing at Mirae Asset.
The fund has sub-funds, which will be made available to both the institutional and retail markets in Hong Kong. Among the sub-funds that are already available are the Mirae Asset Asia Pacific Equity Fund, Mirae Asset China Sector Leader Equity Fund, and Mirae Asset Korea Equity Fund.
The Mirae Asset Asia Pacific Equity Fund invests mainly in equities and equity-related securities of companies domiciled in or exercising a large portion of their economic activity in Asia Pacific ex-Japan countries.
The Mirae Asset China Sector Leader Equity Fund invests mainly in equities and equity-related securities of sector leading companies domiciled in or exercising a large portion of their economic activity in China (limited to B-Shares) and Hong Kong.
The Mirae Asset Korea Equity Fund invests mainly in equities and equity-related securities of companies domiciled in or exercising a large portion of their economic activity in Korea.
Mirae Asset is the largest asset management company in Korea, making up around one-third of the domestic equity fund market. It introduced the very first mutual fund to Korean retail investors in 1998 and has since played a pivotal role in the growth of the fund management industry in the country. It focuses on emerging markets, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mirae Asset's goal is to become a major international player. It opened its office in Hong Kong in 2003, followed by offices in Singapore, Mumbai, Vietnam, the US, the UK, and Brazil.
Mirae Asset Investment Management is the asset-managing arm of financial services firm Mirae Asset Financial Group, which also owns Mirae Asset Securities.
In a bid to improve its status as an international player, Mirae Asset Securities (Hong Kong) hired former Citigroup global equity strategist Ajay Kapur as its global research top strategist last year. Earlier this year, the firm announced that former Credit Lyonnais analyst Gordon Kwan had also joined its team.