FIDELITY Investments is claiming the crown of industry leader after figures yesterday showed its sales over the first nine months of the year topped the rest of the industry combined.
The company believes its telephone support system and a distribution network through 14 banks has helped it defy the market downturn.
According to the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, industry-wide net sales of unit trusts slumped 79 per cent between January and September as investors sought alternatives to a volatile stock market.
Gross sales topped US$3.15 billion while redemptions were about $3.05 billion, leaving a net inflow of about $94 million.
Fidelity said that during the same period its domestic sales grew by 65 per cent to $300 million, and net sales rose by 35 per cent to $130 million.
This week, the president of Fidelity International, Barry Bateman, said he was confident the company's administrative and proposed touch-phone customer services should ensure that it maintained the competitive edge, particularly over its arch-rival Jardine Fleming.