Bridgewater set to expand in onshore investment market

Global hedge fund management firm Bridgewater Associates LP is expanding its Chinese business, as it sees a positive outlook for the nation's economy and the huge potential of its capital market, according to a senior company executive.

"We are committed to long-term development in China, as the Chinese economy is strong and its economic growth for the past 10 years has been very impressive," said Wang Yan, president of Bridgewater China.

Wang said that while the nation's economy is the second-largest in the world, its capital market represents only a small proportion of the global market, so it has great potential.

"Therefore, we have strong confidence in the Chinese stock market and do not care about short-term fluctuations," he said.

Bridgewater will launch its first onshore investment product within six months, rolling out the Chinese version of its All Weather strategy through its multi-asset, pioneering risk parity approach, according to Wang. Earlier this year, Bridgewater launched the offshore All Weather China strategy to provide foreign investors access to Chinese assets.

The target clients for the onshore investment product will include public and corporate pension funds, university endowments and charitable foundations.

Bridgewater manages $160 billion for 350 of the largest and most sophisticated global institutional clients.

The United States-based firm has managed assets for Chinese institutional investors in the global markets since 1993. The firm has had an on-ground presence in the region for nearly a decade, opening its Beijing office in 2011. In 2016, the firm established operations for Bridgewater China Investment Management in Shanghai.

David McCormick, co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates LP, said the company has an extensive history in China, as a result of having been deeply involved in and studying the evolution of its economy and markets for more than 30 years.

"It is with this robust understanding that we recognize China is at a unique inflection point - a globally impactful economy with deepening capital markets which are lowly correlated to those in other developed economies, making Chinese assets a valuable source of diversification," McCormick said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said last June that qualified wholly foreign-owned enterprises and joint ventures can apply to become privately offered fund managers at the Asset Management Association of China.

Thirteen foreign asset managers have registered in this manner since last September, including Man Group Plc, Fidelity International, BlackRock Inc, UBS Group AG, Bridgewater and Winton Group Ltd.