香港在ETF競爭中落後於亞洲對手
Policymakers in Hong Kong must act to strengthen its position as a regional hub for exchange traded funds or risk losing More ground to regional rivals, according to a government advisory body.
香港一個負責政策諮詢的政府機構稱，香港政策制定者必須採取行動、強化香港作爲交易所交易基金(ETF)地區中心的地位，否則香港將會進一步失分於地區對手。
The warning by the Financial Services Development Council reflects concerns that competitors, including China, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, have outpaced Hong Kong in their efforts to promote ETFs.
香港金融發展局(Financial Services Development Council)的這一警告反映出，人們擔心中國內地、韓國、臺灣和新加坡等競爭對手在ETF推廣力度上超過了香港。
In a report published last month, the advisory body wrote: “Hong Kong’s leadership position has been overtaken by Japan and Shanghai as they have introduced more innovative products. Other leading overseas markets have also enhanced their ETF platforms recently, offering an even broader range of ETFs.”
該局在10月發表的一份報告中寫道：“日本和上海都推出了更多創新性產品，近年東京和上海的交投額都已超越香港。其他主要海外市場近來也提升了它們的ETF平臺，銷售更多品種的ETF。”
The report recommends wide-ranging reforms including measures to encourage more ETF use by pension funds and steps to boost the role of ETFs in capital flows between Hong Kong and mainland China.
該報告建議香港實施多項改革，包括鼓勵養老基金加大采用ETF，以及讓ETF在香港和內地之間的資本流動中發揮更大作用。
Hong Kong was the second market in Asia to launch ETFs in 1999 after the first listing in Tokyo in 1995. However, activity remains concentrated in just a few products. One fund alone, the iShares FTSE A50 China ETF, accounts for almost 40 per cent of all ETF turnover in Hong Kong.
1995年，亞洲首隻ETF在東京掛牌。1999年，繼東京之後，香港成爲亞洲第二個發行ETF的市場。然而，交易仍侷限在少數幾個產品上。僅iShares安碩富時A50中國指數ETF(iShares FTSE A50 China ETF)這一隻基金，便佔據了香港ETF總成交量的近40%。
The local regulator is considering how to streamline the authorisation process to encourage more ETF launches. None of the top 20 fastest-growing ETFs launched in Asia this year were listed in Hong Kong, according to ETFGI, the consultancy.
香港監管機構正在考慮如何精簡審批流程，以鼓勵更多ETF發行。諮詢公司ETFGI表示，今年亞洲發行的20只增長最快的ETF中，沒有一隻是在香港掛牌的。
Susan Chan, head of iShares Asia Pacific for BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, says launching more products is “just one part of the solution as improvements can be made across Hong Kong’s entire ETF ecosystem”.
世界最大基金管理公司貝萊德(BlackRock)的iShares安碩亞太區主管陳蕙蘭(Susan Chan)表示，發行更多產品，“只是解決辦法的一部分，香港整個ETF生態系統都有待改善”。
Ms Chan says a combination of measures, including regulatory changes and a greater focus on education, are needed to create more awareness of ETFs among investors and financial advisers.
陳蕙蘭表示，要提高投資者和金融顧問對ETF的認識，香港需要採取一整套措施，包括監管改革和加大對ETF教育工作的重視。
ETF usage in the US accelerated after financial advisers were required to adopt a fee-based payment model instead of relying on commission (incentive) payments from fund managers. ETFs do not pay commissions, but financial advisers in Hong Kong still receive commissions to incentivise them to sell mutual funds. This has hindered ETF adoption.
在監管機構要求金融顧問採取以酬金爲基礎的收費模式，而不再依賴由基金管理公司支付佣金（提成獎勵）之後，ETF在美國的使用加快了。ETF不支付佣金，但香港的金融顧問銷售共同基金仍獲得佣金激勵。這妨礙了ETF的推廣。
“It is early days for ETF adoption among individual financial advisers but there is rising sensitivity about fund fees and costs, which should benefit ETFs,” says Ms Chan.
“ETF在個人金融顧問中的推廣仍處於初級階段，但投資者對基金費用與成本日益敏感，這應會對ETF有利，”陳蕙蘭表示。
Although there is no indication that the local regulator might change the rules, the private banking operations run by global operators including UBS, Credit Suisse, Crédit Agricole, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are moving away from paying retrocessions. All have reported big increases in their fee-based businesses in Asia.
儘管沒有跡象表明香港監管機構可能改變規則，但瑞銀(UBS)、瑞信(Credit Suisse)、法國農業信貸銀行(Crédit Agricole)、摩根大通(JPMorgan)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)等跨國機構的私人銀行業務都開始放棄佣金模式。財報顯示，這些機構在亞洲以酬金爲基礎的業務均大幅增長。
“We are seeing tremendous increases in ETF usage on the discretionary managed platforms run by private banks, which are reporting significant growth in their fee-based business,” says Ms Chan.
“財報顯示，私人銀行以酬金爲基礎的業務顯著增長。我們看到，在私人銀行運營的全權委託管理平臺上，ETF的使用顯著增加，”陳蕙蘭表示。
But ETF adoption among retail investors remains low.
但是，ETF在散戶投資者當中的接受度仍很低。
“Mom-and-pop retail investors in Hong Kong just do not think about ETFs at the moment,” says Ms Chan.
“香港的散戶投資者眼下壓根兒不考慮ETF，” 陳蕙蘭表示。
Deborah Fuhr, co-founder of ETFGI, says ETFs face tough competition in Hong Kong from structured products that are popular among retail investors because they boost returns and do not attract stamp duty.
ETFGI的共同創始人德博拉富爾(Deborah Fuhr)稱，在香港，ETF面臨着來自結構性產品的激烈競爭，後者因高回報率和無需繳納印花稅而受到散戶的歡迎。
“The regulator does not permit leveraged or inverse ETFs to be listed in Hong Kong. But we know from elsewhere that leveraged ETFs are popular among retail investors as a way to amplify returns,” she says.
“監管機構不允許槓桿ETF和反向ETF在香港上市。但是我們從其他地方瞭解到，槓桿ETF作爲一種擴大收益的方式而受到散戶投資者的歡迎，”她稱。
ETFs are also not widely used by pension fund managers. Regulators have only approved a limited number of these products for use by pension schemes, and fund managers are anxious to see these restrictions eased.
養老基金管理公司採用ETF也不多。監管機構只批准了有限數款ETF產品用於養老金計劃，基金管理公司迫切希望看到這些限制得到解除。
“There are many low-cost ETFs that could potentially be added to the [approved] list,” says Stewart Aldcroft, Asia chief executive of CitiTrust, the securities and funds services arm of Citigroup, the US bank.
“現有有很多低成本ETF有可能加入（覈准）列表，”美國花旗集團(Citigroup)旗下從事證券與基金服務的CitiTrust的亞洲首席執行官斯圖爾特攠爾德克羅夫特(Stewart Aldcroft)稱。
Mr Aldcroft, a contributor to the advisory body’s report, notes that pension fund assets across Asia have doubled since 2006, to $2.4tn, and are projected to almost double again to $4.3tn by 2030.
奧爾德克羅夫特是香港金融發展局這份報告的撰寫人之一。他指出，自2006年以來，整個亞洲的養老基金資產規模已經增長一倍，至2.4萬億美元，有望在2030年年底前再增長近一倍，至4.3萬億美元。
“Pension funds are one of the potentially biggest sources of new capital for ETFs,” he says.
“養老基金是ETF最大的潛在新資金來源之一，”他稱。
The inclusion of ETFs into the programme that links stock trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong could also be a “game changer”, according to Mr Aldcroft.
奧爾德克羅夫特表示，將ETF納入“滬港通”項目，也可能“改變格局”。
This would help mainland Chinese investors to use Hong Kong-listed ETFs to gain exposure to international markets.
這將有助於內地投資者利用在香港上市的ETF建立對國際市場的敞口。
“Mainland investors are not allowed to invest in ETFs in other overseas markets directly. This poses enormous opportunities for Hong Kong-listed ETFs,” says Mr Aldcroft.
“政府不允許內地投資者直接投資其他海外市場的ETF。這給香港上市的ETF帶來了巨大的機會，”奧爾德克羅夫稱。
Asian hub ambition: Investors prefer the US or Europe for ETFs
亞洲中心的抱負：投資者眼下傾向於在美國或歐洲購買ETF
Hong Kong’s policymakers face significant challenges if they are to achieve their ambition of building the territory into an Asian hub for exchange traded funds.
如果香港的政策制定者想要實現將香港打造爲亞洲ETF中心的抱負，他們面臨着重大挑戰。
Shelly Painter, regional managing director in Asia for Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager, says Asian institutional investors are making more use of ETFs but they prefer to trade in the US or Europe.
全球第二大資產管理公司先鋒(Vanguard)的亞洲業務董事總經理謝莉槧因特(Shelly Painter)稱，亞洲機構投資者正在加大使用ETF，但是它們傾向於在美國或歐洲交易。
“Liquidity is much better and trading costs are lower in London and New York for large Asian investors,” she says.
“對亞洲投資機構者來說，倫敦和紐約的流動性要好得多，交易成本也更低，”她稱。
Daily ETF trading volumes in Hong Kong were running at $500m in October, around half the ETF business being done in Shanghai and a quarter of the activity in Tokyo. Trading volumes in the US were $80bn.
10月，香港ETF日均交易量爲5億美元，大約是上海的一半，東京的四分之一。美國的交易量爲800億美元。
Persuading international fund managers to cross-list some of their most popular US and European-domiciled products would encourage more ETF adoption.
說服國際基金管理公司將其在美國和歐洲上市的一些最受歡迎的產品在香港交叉上市，將鼓勵投資者更多地採用ETF。
Supervisors in Hong Kong are open to the extension of more mutual recognition arrangements to ETFs domiciled in other countries but they insist that ETF portfolio managers should be employed in the territory, which is an additional layer of expense for international providers.
香港監管機構願意將更多互認安排推廣到在其他國家上市的ETF上，但是他們堅持認爲ETF的投資組合管理者應從香港本地聘請，而這對國際基金管理公司構成一項額外成本。
“They want to see boots on the ground running ETFs in Hong Kong,” says Ms Painter.
“他們希望看到有人員在香港實地管理ETF，”佩因特稱。
Investors have been pulling money out of ETFs listed in Hong Kong this year, with outflows reaching $845m by the end of October. In contrast, South Korea and Taiwan have attracted inflows of $2.3bn and $1.5bn respectively in 2015.
今年，在香港上市的ETF出現資金淨流出，截至10月底資金淨流出達到8.45億美元。相反，今年頭10個月，韓國和臺灣分別吸引了23億美元和15億美元的資金淨流入。
