Vanguard, Ant to advise on investment

Chinese fintech firm Ant Financial and US asset manager Vanguard have teamed up to offer Chinese retail consumers investment advisory services.

A joint-venture by the two firms will provide customized services for investors based on their investment objectives, time horizon and risk preferences, according to a statement released on Saturday.

The services are available for minimum investments of 800 yuan (US$113) and accessible through the Alipay app, a popular third-party fintech platform run by Ant Financial.

“We are delighted to bring this important service to more people in China and look forward to supporting the sustainable growth of the wealth management industry,” said Peter Zhang, CEO of the joint venture.

Investment and wealth management has seen increased popularity among Chinese. The ratio of adults who had put their money into the wealth management market averaged 47.81 percent in 2018, up 1.84 percentage points year on year, while the ratio in rural areas rose 3.32 percentage points to 36.11 percent, data from the People’s Bank of China showed.