SFC-HKMA joint survey reveals record investment product sales and market participation in 2024, with a 40% year-on-year increase in transaction amounts and significant growth in various product categories. Major highlights include the thriving equity-linked products and increasing popularity of money market funds and sovereign bonds.
This article was generated using SAMS, an AI technology by Timothy Loh LLP.
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The Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") released their annual joint survey, which revealed unprecedented sales and market engagement for non-exchange-traded investment products in 2024.
The total transaction value of these products, facilitated by licensed corporations ("LCs") and registered institutions ("RIs"), surged by 40% year-on-year to a record $6,073 billion. This increase was driven by a 12% growth among large firms, with 101 firms reporting transactions of at least $1 billion or $30 billion.
The distribution workforce expanded by 4%, with over 19,000 professionals now engaged in the sector. Concurrently, client transactions rose by 28%, reaching a total of over 1.2 million.
Every major investment product category experienced robust sales growth. Authorised collective investment schemes ("CIS") saw a 96% increase to $1,400 billion, while unauthorised CIS grew by 50% to $844 billion. Structured products and debt securities recorded growth of 30% and 29% respectively.
Equity-linked products, notably driven by strong market momentum, dominated the top-selling structured product category with sales of $1,729 billion, an increase of 43%. Money market funds and sovereign bonds continued to attract investors due to their perceived low risk and attractive returns amidst high interest rates in 2024.
The survey noted that online sales of investment products rose by 13% to 104 firms. CIS remained the top product type sold online, representing 77% of total online sales.
Structured products, particularly equity-linked products, accounted for 42% of the total transaction amount of $2,567 billion. CIS and debt securities followed, making up 37% ($2,244 billion) and 15% ($941 billion) respectively.
Equity-linked products constituted 67% of all structured products sold in 2024, with major underlying equities drawn from technology (42%), automotive (23%), and internet (22%) sectors.
The survey further indicated that online sales comprised 17% (compared to 12% in 2023) of the total transaction amount reported by respondent firms.
The annual survey questionnaire was distributed to 2,368 LCs and 109 RIs, achieving a 99% response rate. This comprehensive report covers the sales of non-exchange-traded investment products between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, with the first joint survey published by the SFC and HKMA in 2021.
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