Shanghai's core appeal to global asset management institutions lies not in a single advantage but in its composite competitiveness, integrating "institutional openness, market depth, institutional clustering, industrial hinterland, and professional talent."
With the tide surging in the East and winds favorable, Shanghai is becoming an indispensable city in the global asset management industry.
On May 18, the Shanghai Municipal Government executive meeting approved in principle the "Several Opinions on Deepening the Construction of Shanghai as a Global Asset Management Center." It noted that Shanghai has made steady and notable progress in building itself into a global asset management center in recent years. It must aim for the standards of world-class asset management hubs, seek greater breakthroughs in functional enhancement and institutional openness, and focus on core elements to precisely boost the center's capabilities.
The latest data underscores Shanghai's weight in the asset management industry. The number of core institutions such as securities companies, fund companies, and futures companies continues to rank first nationally. Nearly one-third of bank wealth management subsidiaries have chosen to establish themselves in Shanghai. Regarding foreign institutions, seven of the nine wholly foreign-owned public fund companies in China operate in Shanghai; all Sino-foreign joint venture wealth management subsidiaries have chosen Shanghai for their headquarters; and the first batch of wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management companies that opened earlier this year took only six months from approval to commencement.
Shanghai, a city that has prospered through openness, is attracting more high-level asset management institutions and versatile, high-caliber professionals with its inclusive spirit and pioneering drive. Many interviewees expressed high expectations for Shanghai's future in deepening its global asset management center construction.
Domestic and foreign institutions are accelerating their clustering in Shanghai. Leveraging a mature financial market system, high-level open policies, and highly concentrated industry resources, Shanghai has gathered various types of Chinese and foreign asset management institutions, including securities, funds, futures, bank wealth management, insurance asset management, and trusts. The number of core institutions such as securities companies, fund companies, and futures companies continues to lead the nation.
Latest data from the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau shows that as of the end of April, there were 33 securities companies in the Shanghai jurisdiction, accounting for 22% of the national total and ranking first. There were 68 public fund management companies, accounting for 45% nationally, also ranking first. There were 36 futures companies, accounting for 24% nationally, again ranking first. Additionally, as of the end of March, 3,620 private fund managers in the Shanghai jurisdiction had completed registration with the Asset Management Association of China.
Currently, among the 32 national bank wealth management subsidiaries, 10 are located in Shanghai. Among the five wholly bank-owned wealth management subsidiaries, three have their parent banks in Shanghai: Bank of Communications Wealth Management, SPDB Wealth Management, and Bank of Shanghai Wealth Management. Guangfa Bank Wealth Management and CITIC Wealth Management chose to register in Shanghai separately from their parent banks.
Shanghai is not only a cluster for domestic asset managers but also a crucial landing point for foreign institutions entering the Chinese market. Data shows that all top 10 global asset managers by size operate in Shanghai. Lujiazui has facilitated 27 foreign institutions in obtaining Wholly Foreign-Owned Private Fund Manager (WFOE PFM) qualifications, forming a nationally leading cluster advantage in areas like Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP), Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP), and foreign public funds.
Public funds, as the "main force" of the asset management industry, have numerous domestic institutions rooted in Shanghai. Since the 2020 lifting of shareholding ratio restrictions for foreign ownership in public fund companies, several foreign institutions have established wholly foreign-owned public funds in Shanghai. Wind data shows that among the current nine wholly foreign-owned public fund companies, seven are in the Shanghai jurisdiction, also leading nationally, with six established after 2020.
Regarding bank wealth management subsidiaries, all Sino-foreign joint venture wealth management subsidiaries have chosen Shanghai for their headquarters: Goldman Sachs ICBC Wealth Management, BlackRock CCB Wealth Management, Schroders Bank of Communications Wealth Management, BNP Paribas ABC Wealth Management, and Huihua Wealth Management.
Furthermore, the Shanghai jurisdiction has 1,130 various securities and futures branches, 19 representative offices of foreign securities institutions, and one representative office of a foreign securities and futures exchange.
Shanghai continues to accelerate its high-level opening-up. In June 2025, the National Financial Regulatory Administration approved the establishment of two insurance asset management companies. By the end of December 2025, the Shanghai Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration issued approvals for AIA Insurance Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Hequan Insurance Asset Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hequan Insurance Asset Management) to commence operations. In January this year, these two newly established wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management institutions held a collective opening ceremony in Shanghai after just six months of preparation.
In May 2021, Shanghai was the first in China to propose the goal of "building a global asset management center." In the 2025 Global Asset Management Center Evaluation Index, Shanghai rose from seventh to fifth place, entering the top five for the first time. On May 18 this year, the Shanghai Municipal Government executive meeting approved in principle the "Several Opinions on Deepening the Construction of Shanghai as a Global Asset Management Center." It pointed out that Shanghai must aim for international first-class standards, seek greater breakthroughs in functional enhancement and institutional openness, and focus on core elements to precisely boost the center's capabilities. According to the "15th Five-Year Plan" goals, by 2030, Shanghai will have basically built itself into a global hub for RMB asset allocation and risk management.
For global asset management institutions, Shanghai is far more than just an office location; it possesses the nation's most complete and dense financial infrastructure and market system.
"The current landscape of Shanghai's asset management industry can be summarized with four keywords: systematic, open, professional, and global," stated China Europe Fund. It emphasized that Shanghai's core appeal lies in its composite competitiveness formed by "institutional openness, market depth, institutional clustering, industrial hinterland, and professional talent." This means an asset management institution can simultaneously access assets, capital, clients, tools, talent, regulations, and efficiency in one city, and Shanghai is among the few Chinese cities with this full-chain capability.
"The Shanghai jurisdiction gathers the most futures companies nationally, forming a scale-driven institutional cluster, which is the result of multiple core advantages overlapping," said Wang Jun, Deputy General Manager of Green Futures, directly. In his view, Shanghai possesses a unique national cluster of futures infrastructure, and "Shanghai Prices" (Shanghai Gold, Shanghai Crude Oil, Shanghai Copper) are deeply embedded in the global industrial chain, becoming important references for global trade pricing.
Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher at Zhaolian and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory, noted that it is precisely Shanghai's advantages—being a highland for institutional open policies, having a mature asset management ecosystem, and offering an international financial environment and talent pool—that attract numerous institutions to establish themselves there.
Beyond these factors, China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) added that Shanghai boasts complete factor markets like the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China Financial Futures Exchange, and Shanghai Gold Exchange, covering all categories of financial assets. This can meet the standardized investment and medium-to-long-term asset allocation needs of global asset managers while also supporting differentiated, sophisticated cross-border investment and risk management layouts, providing a solid market foundation for the scaled development of asset management businesses. Furthermore, Shanghai's continuously optimized business environment makes it the core preferred location for many asset managers to root and expand.
Zhang Chaoyue, Head of the Strategy Team at Northeast Securities, analyzed that Shanghai's asset management industry has formed an interconnected ecosystem of products, policies, and talent. This multi-layered, highly synergistic "full-factor ecosystem" holds an irreplaceable appeal for foreign capital.
Neuberger Berman Fund provided a firsthand account: choosing Shanghai was based on its foundation in China's economic aggregate and the greater investment opportunities it offers. "Shanghai has always been at the forefront of capital market opening to the outside world, serving as the bridgehead and hub for China's financial industry opening." "We are greatly encouraged to be based in Shanghai and will continue to actively fulfill our commitment to the Chinese market, bringing global excellent strategies to Chinese investors."
"We are committed to cultivating China's 'patient capital' market. Obtaining the asset management license is a crucial step. We will use this as a starting point to efficiently integrate resources in the Chinese market leveraging the group's multinational capital advantages," said Zhang Mengjiao, Chairman of Hequan Insurance Asset Management. The opening of the asset management company demonstrates the group's confidence in the development opportunities of the Chinese market and its high expectations for Shanghai's construction as an international financial center.
As numerous high-level asset management institutions cluster in Shanghai, Zhang Chaoyue believes this lays the foundation for a "gravitational field" of capital depth. "A deep liquidity base gives Shanghai the genuine 'large capacity' to attract and accommodate global resource allocation."
Zhang Chaoyue added, "Numerous institutions have attracted a massive pool of versatile, high-caliber talent skilled in IT, mathematics, macro investment research, and derivatives risk control. Combined with the digital-intelligent environment, this constitutes the long-term barrier most difficult to replicate for an asset management center."
From proposal to construction of a global asset management center, "Shanghai speed" has yielded significant results. Since Chinese and foreign asset management institutions have gathered in Shanghai, the industry landscape shows that Shanghai has formed a cluster of asset management institutions with full licenses, a complete chain, and full openness. The scale and influence of core types of asset management institutions are leading nationally.
Take the most representative asset managers—public funds. Wind data shows that as of the end of Q1, the 68 fund companies in the Shanghai jurisdiction had a combined public fund management scale exceeding 13 trillion yuan. Shanghai fund companies show a clear head concentration characteristic, with seven ranking within the top 20 in the industry by public fund management scale. Fullgoal Fund and China Universal Asset Management had public fund management scales of 1.38 trillion yuan and 1.16 trillion yuan, respectively, at the end of Q1, both ranking within the top ten in the industry.
Besides significant head effects, the mid-tier strength among Shanghai's public fund companies is robust. At the end of Q1, 28 fund companies had public fund management scales exceeding 100 billion yuan, accounting for 45% of the industry (excluding securities firms and other asset managers). Fund companies in the Shanghai jurisdiction are also continuously expanding various fund products, including active equity funds and passive index funds. They also lead in popular products like ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds). As of the end of Q1, four public fund companies in Shanghai had ETF product scales ranking within the industry's top ten, compared to two each in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.
Regarding bank wealth management, based on parent banks' 2025 annual report data, the performance of bank wealth management institutions in Shanghai shows strong growth. Among them, Bank of Communications Wealth Management and SPDB Wealth Management are at the forefront of wealth management subsidiaries, belonging to the "trillion-yuan club." As of the end of 2025, their managed wealth product balances reached 1.75 trillion yuan and 1.47 trillion yuan, respectively. CIB Wealth Management saw total assets and net assets increase by 23.86% and 23.66% year-on-year, respectively, with both revenue and net profit posting positive growth. Bank of Shanghai Wealth Management's product scale also increased by 589.88 billion yuan from the previous year-end, an 18.05% growth, 6.9 percentage points higher than the average growth rate of the bank wealth management market.
The clustering of futures companies in Shanghai brings significant scale effects. Data shows that in 2025, futures companies in the Shanghai jurisdiction achieved operating revenue of 14.2 billion yuan and net profit of 4 billion yuan. They managed over 1,500 futures asset management products with a scale nearing 180 billion yuan, offering a complete range of strategies including CTA, "fixed income+", hybrid allocation, and derivative structures. The leading role of top institutions is prominent, with local leaders like Guotai Junan Futures and Shanghai Orient Futures ranking at the forefront in industry net profit.
Shanghai's futures market scale and trading activity lead nationally. Taking Shanghai Futures Exchange data as an example, China Futures Association data shows that from January to April 2026, the cumulative trading volume on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 94.067 million lots, with a cumulative turnover of approximately 141.46 trillion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 29.66% and 83.25%, respectively, accounting for 27.22% and 42.68% of the national market. Core indicators like trading volume and turnover for futures companies in the Shanghai jurisdiction rank at the national forefront, demonstrating strong clustering effects and professional advantages. As of April this year, the Shanghai Futures Exchange has opened multiple products, including nickel futures and options, TSR 20 rubber options, and international copper options, to overseas traders and simultaneously to Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs).
In recent years, policy support and institutional innovation have driven the high-quality development of Shanghai's asset management industry, such as the QFLP and QDLP pilot programs.
In December 2023, Shanghai released the "Several Measures to Further Promote the High-Quality Development of Shanghai's Equity Investment Industry," including deepening the QFLP pilot, promoting innovation in the QFLP pilot, and expanding investment fields and methods. In March 2025, Shanghai launched the "Action Plan for Shanghai International Financial Center to Further Enhance Cross-Border Financial Service Facilitation," proposing multiple measures for the Shanghai QDLP pilot to accelerate the facilitation of global asset management and enhance global asset allocation capabilities.
As of the end of July 2025, the QFLP and QDLP pilot programs had attracted 99 and 66 international asset management institutions, respectively.
At the new starting point of the "15th Five-Year Plan," how should Shanghai continue to attract top global asset management institutions, and how should institutions operating in Shanghai assist in accelerating the construction of a global asset management center?
Dong Ximiao believes the banking sector can assist in four aspects. First, accelerate the building of local flagship asset management institutions. Promote the accelerated capability upgrade of wealth management companies established in Shanghai. Second, enhance investment research capabilities and optimize the specialized product system. For instance, develop products suitable for cross-border wealth management that meet the global allocation needs of Shanghai and Shenzhen investors. Third, leverage policy advantages and deepen openness and innovation. For example, actively participate in the expansion of QDLP and QFLP, providing domestic investors with more diversified global asset allocation channels. Finally, utilize fintech to advance digital-intelligent empowerment.
In the view of Zhou Jin, Insurance Consulting Lead Partner at Tianshi International, insurance funds, characterized by large scale, long duration, wide scope, and diverse tools, represent long-term "patient capital" for the capital market, practitioners of value investing, and an important area for attracting foreign capital, holding strategic significance for the stable and healthy development of the capital market.
"Insurance asset management institutions should leverage their advantages of long-term, low-cost funds to transform into patient capital supporting Shanghai's technological innovation and infrastructure, providing stable funding for the real economy," said Long Ge, Deputy Director of the Innovation and Risk Management Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics.
Regarding the futures and derivatives industry, Wang Jun believes Shanghai is in a critical leap period from "domestic leader" to "global first-class." Only by closely aligning with the strategic deployment of building Shanghai into a global asset management center and fully leveraging the differentiated value and irreplaceable core functions of the futures industry can a truly "richly layered and highly competitive" international first-class asset management center be built, providing solid support for China's high-level financial opening and the high-quality development of the real economy.
Zhang Chaoyue stated that Shanghai can continue to support eligible foreign institutions in establishing wholly-owned or joint-venture securities firms, fund companies, pension management companies, and wealth management subsidiaries. Simultaneously, increase efforts in product and service innovation. In ecosystem construction, optimize the differentiated coordination among Lujiazui Financial City, the Bund Financial Agglomeration Zone, and the Lingang New Area. Also, focus on introducing and cultivating intermediary institutions that align with international standards, such as professional custodians, valuation and accounting services, third-party fund evaluation agencies, money brokers, compliance and risk control, and legal and audit firms. Furthermore, continue to attract more high-caliber talent with international asset management experience to Shanghai.