The fourth annual Pan-Asian Morningstar Institutional Conference in Hong Kong held on 6 June 2017 had gathered financial experts and leading fund managers to share their perspectives on current trends in the industry. More than 190 delegates across the financial services industry attended the conference.
The theme for this year’s Morningstar Institutional Conference is exploring the opportunities that arise from the intersection of technology and consumerism, and what this means for the future of advice in Asia. Despite the challenging global growth outlook, Asia’s transition to a consumer-led economy has continued to gather pace. The rise of the middle class has spurred growing demand for financial services, from transactional banking to holistic wealth management services. At the same time, the growing importance of technology means that the financial services industry in Asia is entering this exciting phase benefiting from the emergence of fintech, which has the potential to reinvent the industry including ways in which advice can be provided to the end consumer.
Intended for Asia-based institutional investors and wealth managers, the conference delivered compelling presentations and discussions led by Morningstar experts, regulatory bodies and other industry professionals. Speakers discussed several timely topics and examined the market from a macro perspective, detailing its effect on each major asset class.
Our morning keynote speaker, Ashley Alder, CEO of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, discussed the opportunities and challenges that arise from this evolving landscape in the wealth management industry and the regulator’s role to put investors first as the industry seeks to reinvent itself for the future.
Our new global CEO, Kunal Kapoor, joined us as our second morning keynote speaker where he shared his perspectives on the future of the industry and how Morningstar is strategically positioned to help improve investor experience and deliver better outcomes for investors.
It is also our honour to have Mr. Cheah Cheng Hye, chairman and co-CIO of Value Partners, as our afternoon keynote speaker. In a fireside-style chat with Morningstar’s Jeffery Ptak, Cheah shared his personal journey on how he built his investment career and co-founded one of the most well-recognized asset managers in the region and discussed the lessons he learned along the way.
Other highlights of Morningstar Institutional Conference 2017 include:
Allianz Global Investors’ Neil Dwane (left), BlackRock’s Russ Koesterich (middle), and Morningstar’s Andrew Lill (right) shared their market outlook and outlined how they are maneuvering their portfolios through this challenging environment.
BlackRock’s Neeraj Seth (left), head of Asian credit, and J.P. Morgan’s Stephen Chang (middle), head of Asian fixed income, provided actionable advice for fixed-income investors.
Morningstar has been conducting the Mind the Gap study in the US since 2005 to find out just how well American investors are doing in investing. This year, the study was expanded to include funds accessible to Asian investors, and Morningstar's senior analyst of manager research, Arthur Wu, provided a snapshot of the results.
Fidelity’s head of personal investing, Jon Everill, shared his thoughts on the future of financial advice in the age of technological innovation and how technology can work in partnership with distributors, advisors, and investors to pursue better outcomes.
Morningstar’s Dan Lefkovitz talks about indexing in the changing investment world.
Robeco’s Arnout van Rijn (left), First State Stewart Asia’s Vinay Agarwal (middle), UBS’ Bin Shi (right) shared where they are finding investment opportunities, some of the challenges they face, and their outlook for Asian equities against the creative disruptions.
Morningstar’s Chok Wai Lee (left) opened the session with an overview of Morningstar’s demographics study, followed by HSBC’s Mandy Chan (middle) where she presented her perspectives as a portfolio manager. The session concluded with a panel discussion between Chan and Morningstar’s Dan Baker (right) on how these demographic trends can translate into investment opportunities in China.
Vontobel’s Michael Haupt (left), CitiTrust’s Stewart Aldcroft (middle), and Privé Financial’s Charles Wong commented on whether fintech is friend or foe when it comes to providing advice and what they think the future holds for client engagement in Asia.
You can watch our moderators’ two-minute recap video on the panel discussions via the links below
Fixed Income Panel — Is the Tide Finally Turning?
Asian Equities Panel — Surviving the Next Wave of Creative Disruptions in Asia
Morning Keynote — Putting Investors First in Wealth Management 2.0
Afternoon Keynote — Fireside Chat with Cheah Cheng Hye
Morningstar Equities Research — How China’s Changing Demographics Reshapes the Investment Landscape
The Practitioners’ Panel — Can Fintech Revolutionise the Provision of Advice in Asia?
Morningstar Session — Indexing in a Changing World
Key Takeaways from 2017 Morningstar Institutional Conference (coming soon)
