The PwC Market Research Centre is a multi-purpose entity composed of analysts and experts who assist asset and wealth managers and service providers from concept to operational readiness, and provide continual support for ongoing activities. The Centre's team of highly-skilled professionals from diverse disciplines ensures excellence in its work and delivers current industry insights, future industry trends, and key business indicators to you and your organisation.
Market Intelligence Country Digest
Our structured, research-based analysis sheds light on the multiple factors affecting your asset management business.
Each market intelligence digest provides you with:
- The state of the asset & wealth management industry
- The key trends shaping the future of the industry
- Products that are in demand
- Your competitors
- Various types of investors and their asset allocations
- Fund selectors and the asset classes that interest them
- The distribution channels and how they are evolving
- High level regulatory information to get you started
- Prevailing market strategies
(These are non-standardised reports that will be customised to your business needs by focusing on any specific aspect of the market place to suit your market-entry need.)
PwC’s Asia Pacific Asset & Wealth Management team tracks the APAC asset & wealth management landscape. Our country digests are refreshed frequently and updated with the latest in the regulatory & market developments.
Asset & Wealth Management in Australia
Australia, with its ‘Wall of money’ generated by a world-class superannuation scheme, is a lucrative market for asset managers to crack. Until recently, its asset management industry was fairly insular but recent developments, including engagement with the Asia Region Fund Passport programme, have seen it start to open up.
Asset & Wealth Management in China
China’s combined public and private fund industry has AUM in excess of USD3 trillion – and it currently does not have a mature private pension system. Pension reforms are taking increased prominence and cross-border programmes continue to proliferate; providing foreign asset managers multiple avenues to raise money from Chinese investors and to help their non-Chinese clients invest in the Middle Kingdom.
Asset & Wealth Management in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s role as a global asset management centre reflects its position as the gateway to China; the territory is usually at the forefront of new cross-border programme initiatives and financial products relating to China. Internally, the recent Open-Ended Fund company ordinance is aimed to increase competitiveness of Hong Kong as a fund domicile, and the Mandatory Provident Fund – Hong Kong’s defined contribution personal pension pillar – continues to accumulate AUM.
Asset & Wealth Management in India
India’s asset management market is growing at a phenomenal rate and attracting record numbers of mutual fund account openings. Corporate and HNWIs are the main investors, though the mass-retail segment is increasing thanks to recent policy initiatives. Regulatory challenges remain, especially for foreign asset managers, and the current government has made reform a cornerstone of their administration so change could occur quickly and decisively.
Asset & Wealth Management in Indonesia
Indonesia’s asset and wealth management industry has experienced strong growth in excess of 10% over the last several years and is expected continue to grow as local affluence increases and engagement with regional passporting schemes like the Asia Region Fund Passport programme. Given its Islamic culture, Shariah-compliant funds and other Islamic finance products are expected to proliferate.
Asset & Wealth Management in Japan
Japan’s asset and wealth management industry is well-balanced, with institutional investors, individual investors, and pension funds all playing an active part. The economic and business reforms of ‘Abe-nomics’ are still working their way through the Japanese economy and the heady revenues of yester-year in the asset and wealth management industry will need to adapt them and other policy developments.
Asset & Wealth Management in Malaysia
Shariah-compliant securities and Sukuk issuances comprise over half of Malaysia’s capital markets and has a varied range of Shariah-compliant funds available including unit trusts, wholesale funds, REITs, and ETFs. Globally, a growing Islamic population and increased demand for Socially Responsible Investing – which Shariah funds comply with – are likely to see Malaysia’s Islamic funds market continue to grow. Regional passporting schemes like ASEAN Collective Investment Schemes will help promote non-Shariah funds in the country.
Asset & Wealth Management in New Zealand
New Zealand possesses a relatively small but highly international asset and wealth management industry – over 40% of assets are allocated overseas. The introduction of KiwiSaver – New Zealand’s defined contribution private pension pillar – in the early 2000’s has seen a large pool of assets accumulate and help develop the domestic asset management industry. The alternatives space is relatively small but is active across the country.
Asset & Wealth Management in Philippines
The asset and wealth management industry in the Philippines is poised for regulatory change – particularly in the area of collective investment schemes. The three existing investment options; mutual funds, unit investment trusts, and universal life insurance policies, suffer from regulatory and tax arbitrage. A fast-growing mass affluent population provides opportunities for industry players to target and the private banking space offers opportunities for foreign managers to enter.
Asset & Wealth Management in Singapore
Singapore provides asset and wealth managers with many benefits; a favourable destination for offshore wealth, a strong private banking industry, innovative new products like the Singapore-Variable Capital Company fund structure, and increasing links to regional fund passporting schemes like the ASEAN Collective Investment Scheme and Asia Region Fund Passport programme. A healthy alternatives space thrives within the city-state as well.
Asset & Wealth Management in South Korea
Korea’s asset management industry – comprising public funds, private funds, and discretionary assets – is closing in on the USD1 trillion mark, though over 90% of these assets are invested onshore. Over the last decade, institutional investors have crowded-out individual investors in public funds and they gained a majority share of this market in 2016. While purely local players dominate the asset management landscape, there are avenues for foreign asset managers to enter into joint-ventures and access the market.
Asset & Wealth Management in Taiwan
Taiwan’s asset and wealth management space boasts a small-but-growing pool of AUM split between managed asset funds, discretionary assets, and private equity – which has a very high growth potential. For global asset managers looking to access the market, targeting institutional investors, pension funds in particular, for mandates provides an attractive option. However, given recent tightening of distribution regulation, accessing the market proves challenging.
Asset & Wealth Management in Thailand
Thai mutual funds have experienced rapid growth over the last decade and total AUM is approaching USD200 bn. Thai investors are increasingly seeking diversified portfolios and investing in foreign funds provides a significant part of this. The introduction of a mandatory provident fund in 2018, a defined contribution privately managed personal pension scheme for Thais, will provide further opportunities for asset managers in the form of mandates and advising on suitable products.
Asset & Wealth Management in European Markets (Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany)
PwC and accelerando have joined forces to deliver asset & wealth management country reports on European markets.
The powerful combination of PwC's expertise in the asset management industry and accelerando's knowledge of Europe's fund selector and investor landscape offers investors an exciting new tool.
Distribution Strategy
A robust and well-designed distribution strategy should identify the specific requirements and best practices of each local target market for the funds you wish to institute. Our analysis of local markets, key distribution channels (whether direct or via partnerships) along with current best practices will help you develop a distribution strategy that will maximise your opportunities for success.
Our Asia Pacific asset & wealth management distribution strategy reports draw upon the knowledge of a large pool of country and industry experts to help clients perform better in existing markets, and identify new markets in a rapidly changing environment.
Benchmarking
Providing benchmarking studies in the fund industry
Benchmarking studies in the fund industry act as an important tool for establishing, evaluating, and justifying inter-company transactions. In achieving these objectives, the Asset & Wealth Management Research team provides support in developing such benchmarking studies – as part of the tax documentations, fund structuring and building revenue models.
In ensuring the reliability and accuracy of our studies, we work with data from specialised databases provided by credited and established vendors within the industry that will be analysed by our dedicated asset & wealth management research specialists. Our team is able to benchmark management fees, distribution fees, sales & marketing fees, discretionary fees, and non-discretionary fees, across various types of funds.
Product & Competitor Analysis
We offer unique, customisable market intelligence reports.
The fund flows provides an overview of the market by assets (domicile, asset class, strategy, investment focus). It also showcases insights into the top 1,3,12-month net flows by asset class, fund groups, and funds which are registered for sale.
Our customised benchmarking comparison provides you with analysis of your firm’s funds vis-à-vis the industry and selected competitors. We are able to benchmark your firm based on selected measures from performance to revenue.
House views show an aggregated view of various brokers and banks on asset classes of interest in the market place currently allowing you to get a full picture of the direction of the market place along with product performance.
Based on the number of searches for fund factsheets, we will provide you with an analysis of the fund sectors, fund groups and funds which are most sought after by investors in the respective country (currently available only in select market places).
Fund Product Rationalisation
With heightened profitability and fee pressure on the asset managers in recent times than any other in history; fund houses should routinely re-evaluate the fund range for their relevance.
The PwC’s Asset Management and Research team’s market intelligence team can help declutter from your fund range, fund products that would neither meet your internal metric nor would be commercial viable. Our objective assessment of the portfolio mix along with market data will help your product mix to ensure optimisation of team resources and profitability.
Thought Leadership & Market Visibility
Knowing how to leverage your visibility amid millions of competing messages, both digital and traditional, is essential. We assist clients in developing appropriate content to tackle the most pressing issues of our day, and deliver relevant information that allows them to gain credibility and exposure in the market place.
Market Watch
Our market intelligence tool, 3W - Fund Distribution Watch, covers more than 35 markets and related topics critical to cross border fund distribution. It is fully supported by our global network of local fund specialists offering their expert knowledge of fund distribution.
Our Regulatory Watch follows regulatory developments as they emerge across the globe. This tool provides links to core texts, from consultation papers to finalised technical standards, and to executive summaries of key issues, rated for impact across industry sectors.
We can also provide you with monthly reports by email, organised per jurisdictions with a high-level impact rating for your industry.
Our Fund Distribution Watch provides you with everything you must know to be compliant in a given jurisdiction, to register your fund for marketing/ distribution in a target country, and to maintain your registration.
Our Tax Watch keeps you informed with the latest developments in the tax sector. It helps the fund industry prepare for the new requirements or consider alternative investment policies to meet investor demands.
Economic Analysis
Do you want to gain a deeper understanding of global and local markets in order to make more accurate predictions and impact assessments?
The PwC Market Research Centre has a staff of economists with diverse skill sets who can help you to decipher information that is pertinent to your business.
Economic Analysis - We can help you achieve your goals by conducting econometric and statistical analysis at the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. We routinely deliver economic analysis on the current state of various countries, sectors, industries and business lines.
Predictive Assessment - We can help you make reliable forecasts with sophisticated econometric methods applied to microeconomic or macroeconomic issues. We deliver forecasts on a wide range of areas such as the future of financial services, industries and markets.
Impact Assessment - We can help you quantify the impact of your decisions in order to optimize them and support you in setting up the right methodology for streamlining your decision making process to achieve greater objectivity.
Our People
Our diverse research team consists of professionals representing numerous countries, fluent in myriad languages and knowledgeable in a wide range of competencies. We serve clients from leading global and local companies as well as public and government institutions, and work with investment entities and individuals to build the value you are looking for.
The PwC Market Research Centre serves the following clients: asset managers, wealth managers, private banks, financial service providers, professional associations and public and governmental institutions.
Our team is composed of professionals from numerous countries throughout the world who represent a diverse profile of competencies including:
- Macroeconomics and Microeconomics
- Market Analysis
- Financial Analysis
- Journalism
- Marketing Expertise
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