Wider choices fuel public interest in savvy investment strategies

The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) launched in 2001 has been one of the key drivers shaping the public's interest in looking for better ways to invest, grow and protect their assets.

As a result, training, nurturing, and retaining financial advisers to become certified financial planner's (CFP) remains a top priority for financial institutions and individuals operating in the wealth management sector.

Increasingly, consumers are being offered a wider choice of innovative investment products requiring financial planners and wealth investment professionals to have a better understanding of industry trends and their clients' financial goals.

The total number of funds at the end of last June was 2,462, including 1,952 unit trusts and mutual funds, 136 investment-linked assurance schemes, and 250 MPF pooled investment funds, with a total of US$342 billion under management.

A decade ago there were only a few dozen products to choose from. Hong Kong's regulatory framework concerning compliance and the launch of new investment products has undergone a seismic shift over the past few years, offering more choices and greater protection to investors.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and its new law, the Security and Futures Ordinance (SFO), implemented last April, were designed to strike a balance between protecting investors and facilitating market development. The ordinance focused on enhancing market transparency and regulating new products and services such as automated trading. In addition, a single licence for market intermediaries was introduced to streamline regulatory arrangements and improve the quality of intermediary services.

To protect investors, the SFC set up a civil Market Misconduct Tribunal and expanded the existing criminal route to combat market misconduct. This, together with new investigative powers, was designed to create a fairer and more orderly market.