Serious investors need China exposure, should ‘forget about the short-term pain’, asset managers say
- A lot of people fail to understand the prudent mindset of Chinese consumers, Pimco asset manager says
- ‘Having no China [exposure] is, I think, a mistake,’ says Amundi asset manager
Investors cannot generalise about China but should better understand its unique characteristics, as it does not make sense for investors with a long-term view to avoid exposure to the country, said experts at a summit in Hong Kong.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t understand the fact that the Chinese consumer is a cash-oriented investor who doesn’t like debt,” said John Studzinski, vice-chairman of asset manager Pimco, which oversees assets worth US$2 trillion. “And the Chinese-oriented investor is someone who’s very prudent and very conservative.”
Right now China has a very high savings rate, and therefore the retail financial market is developing, he said during a panel discussion at the Endowus Investment Summit on Wednesday. “We actually are quite encouraged by the evolution of capital markets in mainland China,” he added.
“It’s not super bullish,” Lee said during the same panel discussion. “But still, people will take it that stabilisation is in sight. It perhaps will still take quite a bit of time for some excesses to be removed or digested.