SECRETARY for Financial Services Michael Cartland says fund managers will reap a windfall in new business from the new Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance.
The Ordinance seeks to separate the assets of funds from those of the companies running them and to protect beneficiaries in the event of a Robert Maxwell-style crisis.
Its other requirements are independent audit, the disclosure of information to members and for employers to top up their funds to meet strict solvency and funding guidelines.
Much of this new business would come from the latter requirement, Mr Cartland told the Hongkong Investment Funds Association, formerly known as the Hongkong Unit Trust Association.
The amount in existing retirement funds has been estimated at $80 billion and Mr Cartland said the amount of underfunding could be between $5 billion and $10 billion.
''The topping-up requirement, not to mention the establishment of new schemes, should therefore result in more assets being absorbed into the pool of pension funds, providing new opportunities for investment managers and, at the same time, increasing thedemand for their professional advice.'' He noted that pool funds were already popular vehicles for the investment of retirement funds.