牛市催生中國私募基金繁榮

More than 4,000 new Chinese hedge and private equity funds have launched in the past three months, fuelling a mass exodus from traditional investment houses as ambitious fund managers seek to profit from the country’s booming stock market.

過去3個月裏，中國新成立了逾4000家對衝基金和私募股權基金，在雄心勃勃的基金經理們尋求從中國牛氣沖天的股市獲益之際，助長了一場大規模的傳統投資公司人才流失潮。

The number of private investment funds — including private equity, and venture capital — totalled 12,285 by the end of May, up from 7,989 three months earlier, figures from China’s securities regulator show. Assets under management increased by $75bn to $433bn.

中國證監機構公佈的數據顯示，到5月底，私募股權基金（包括私人股本和風險資本）的數量從3個月前的7989家上升至12285家，其資產管理規模從750億美元增加至4330億美元。

The Shanghai Composite Index closed at a seven-year high on Friday and is up 150 per cent over the past year. The small-cap, tech-focused ChiNext board in Shenzhen has more than tripled in the past year.

上證綜指(Shanghai Composite Index)在上週五收於7年新高，在過去一年裏上漲了150%。小市值科技股集中的深圳創業板(ChiNext)在過去一年裏則上漲了兩倍多。

Feng Gang, chairman of private equity house WinSure Capital, said the government was encouraging entrepreneurship in finance. He launched his fund in January after 14 years at Chinese mutual fund companies, most recently China International Fund Management, a joint venture with JPMorgan Chase.

私人股本公司域秀資本(WinSure Capital)的董事長馮剛表示，政府正鼓勵金融領域的創業。今年1月，馮剛創立了域秀資本，此前他在中國多家共同基金公司工作了14年，其中最近的一家是與摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)合資的上投摩根基金管理有限公司(China International Fund Management)。

“In the past 14 years I’ve never seen regulators so encouraging of innovation. In the investment industry, we’re taking the lead,” he said.

“過去14年裏，我從未看到監管機構像現在這麼鼓勵創新。我們在投資行業走在了前面，”他說。

In February the government switched to a streamlined registration procedure for private equity and hedge funds, abandoning the more onerous approval process.

今年2月，中國政府精簡了私募股權基金和對衝基金的註冊手續，放棄了原本更繁瑣的審批流程。

Employees at hedge and private equity funds have risen by more than 60,000 in three months, topping 199,000 by the end of May.

對衝基金和私募股權基金的員工在3個月裏增加了逾6萬人，到5月底超過了19.9萬人。

“More than half of our research team has left over the past year to join hedge funds,” said a vice-president for institutional business at a large Chinese securities brokerage in Shanghai. “It’s the same with our [mutual fund] clients. Now all the fund managers are ‘post-80s’,” she said, referring to those born after 1980.

“過去一年裏，我們研究團隊裏超過一半的成員跳槽去了對衝基金，”上海一家大型中資券商的機構業務副總裁表示。“我們的（共同基金）客戶也一樣。現在所有基金經理都是80後，”她說。

Chinese hedge funds differ from western counterparts in key respects. Where western funds rely mainly on institutional investors, Chinese hedge funds draw from retail investors, using banks and brokerages as sales channels.

中國的對衝基金在一些關鍵方面與西方同行不同。西方的基金主要依賴機構投資者，而中國對衝基金面向散戶投資者，利用銀行和券商作爲銷售渠道。