The largest mutual fund company,
with roughly $6 trillion in assets under management, said in a statement its
Hong Kong business mostly served institutional clients and not retail investors.
US asset manager Vanguard
Group will close its Hong Kong and Japan operations and cut jobs across
both locations as it shifts its Asian headquarters to Shanghai, it said on
Wednesday.
The largest mutual fund company, with roughly $6 trillion in assets under
management, said in a statement its Hong Kong business mostly served
institutional clients and not retail investors, which are its primary focus.
Hong Kong has been
home to Vanguard's main office in Asia after the index fund giant closed its
Singapore operation in 2018. It said the departure from the Asian financial hub
would take between six months and two years.
The move comes as US-China
relations are strained over issues including trade, territorial disputes
and individual freedoms in Hong Kong. Asked if events in Hong Kong played a
role in its decisions, Vanguard spokeswoman Dana Grosser said via email that
Vanguard still sees growth potential in the city.
"Hong Kong is
an important global financial center, and continues to be an important
international capital market for Vanguard," she wrote. The city's stock
market "will remain as a critical component for Vanguard's global
diversified funds" while its securities channels will still provide access
to Chinese stock and bond markets, she said.
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