Wealth Mgmt Firm Cambridge Associates To Open Office In Hong Kong

HONG KONG – Cambridge Associates, a Boston-based wealth manager that counts the Rothschild family as one of its clients, has applied for multiple licences to do business here, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Sunday afternoon (29 August, SGT).

The wealth manager, which has over US$38 billion of assets under management (AUM), plans to open an office in Hong Kong, in addition to its existing presence across Asia Pacific in Singapore, Sydney, and Beijing in a bid to draw more customers from the Greater Bay Area.

“The expansion of our footprint to Hong Kong will allow us to capture the growing opportunities in the development of the Greater Bay Area,” said Cambridge Associates’ Head of global private client practice, Mary Pang, in an interview with SCMP.

“While travel restrictions remain in Hong Kong, it does not affect our expansion plan in the city, as we are taking a very long-term view to develop in the city,” explained Pang, who transferred to Singapore from San Francisco earlier this year.

The date when the company will open the office has not yet been determined as the wealth manager is still waiting for regulatory approval from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.

Notably, Cambridge Associates is among the latest wealth managers and family offices establishing a presence in the city after the authorities kick-started a marketing campaign.

Invest Hong Kong, a government agency whose goal is to attract foreign direct investment in Hong Kong and bolster the city’s status as a global commercial hub, has set up a family office in June to lure affluent families to invest their fortunes here.

During the same month, Mario Ho Yau-kwan, son of the deceased casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun, established a family-office platform in Hong Kong. Pang also revealed that Invest Hong Kong is assisting Cambridge Associates in opening an office here.

Moreover, Cambridge Associates is joining top financial firms in Hong Kong – particularly the 3 note-issuing banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China – that are expanding into the wealth management sector, as more billionaires emerged in China than anywhere else on the globe.

“Hong Kong is one of the largest capital markets worldwide, as well as an easy location for our international clients to travel to,” noted Pang, who will be in charge of the Hong Kong office.

“Hong Kong continues to be a deep source of financial services talent that can help our global clients to invest in the region,” she added.