(Dec 5): Fullerton Fund Management Co, controlled by Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, is winding down its China private fund businesses including an eight-year-old hedge fund unit, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Singapore-based Fullerton has shut most of operations at the Shanghai hedge fund unit and another private fund business, and cut most of the onshore staff, the people said, asking not to be named as the matter is private.
Fullerton, which is a member of Temasek’s asset management arm Seviora Group, said it plans to maintain a presence in China. “China remains an important market for Fullerton,” the company said in an emailed response, adding that it’s “focusing resources in areas that best support” its clients and portfolios.
Temasek declined to comment and Seviora didn’t immediately comment.
The move comes after Singapore state-owned Temasek announced one of its biggest overhauls in years. Except for a few top players like Bridgewater Associates and Two Sigma Investments, global firms including Fullerton have struggled to grow their operations in China’s even trillion yuan (US$990 billion, or $1.28 trillion) hedge fund market, partly due to intense competition from local rivals and a lack of brand recognition among wealthy clients.
Fullerton Investment Management (Shanghai) Co, the hedge fund business that registered in 2017, manages less than 500 million yuan and has five full-time employees, according to the website of Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).
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The other private fund business, which shares the same office address in Shanghai, registered in 2021 and has assets under management between 500 million yuan and one billion yuan, according to the AMAC records.
Fullerton joins a few other global peers in scaling back onshore hedge fund businesses in recent years. BEA Union Investment Management Ltd closed its Shenzhen-based unit in March. Eastspring Investments and Barings LLC shrank their teams in 2023, Bloomberg News reported then.
Temasek is merging subsidiaries Seviora and Pavilion Capital after it said earlier in the year that will divide its assets into three key entities. One of them — Temasek Partnership Solutions — is focused on managing capital invested in funds and will include Seviora and Pavilion’s operations.
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The new structure will start from April 1 and a strategic review of Temasek’s asset management companies is underway.
Fullerton’s hedge fund unit said in an article on its WeChat account in July that China’s stock market is becoming an increasingly appealing investment option for investors, thanks to its improving economy, policy support and attractive valuations.
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