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FinTechs belonging to this category offer asset and portfolio management services via an internet platform or software programs and usually manage and dispose of the assets of their customers long or short term according to their specifications without actually holding the property or the possession of those assets. FinTechs, which provide information about and access to overnight or time deposit accounts at national and foreign banks and which execute the transactions to these accounts, also belong to this category. Some FinTechs however only act on request of the customer.
Aside from that some FinTechs offer software or internet solutions enabling users to manage and plan their personal finances on their own by providing graphics, overviews and compilations of their financial data and sometimes indicating financial risks or opportunities, but without actually managing the assets.
Introduction
Attitude of the country towards modern asset and portfolio management services
With the rapid development of FinTech, business of asset and portfolio management is in the process of remodelling. In China, the financial institutions engaging asset management business keep increasing their investment in FinTech in order to have an advantage in data collection and collation, risk control and personalisation; the regulatory authorities have also imposed more detailed regulatory requirements on the asset and portfolio management services.
Legal affairs
Obligations and requirements to provide asset and portfolio management, or ancillary services described above
Entities engaged in asset management shall be divided into two (2) categories in terms of regulation. The first category is financial institutions regulated by the Chinese Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), including but not limited to, banks, trust companies and insurance companies. The second category is financial institutions regulated by the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), including but not limited to, fund management companies, securities companies, and private equity institutions. There is no unified license/supervision on the general asset and portfolio management services, but the entities engaging in asset management services shall be the said financial institutions and hold relevant licenses. With respect to the operation of online asset management business, the authorities have also issued a series of regulations to impose strict requirements in the aspect of the protection of personal information, platform anti-monopoly, webcast marketing etc.
For unlicensed institutions, CBIRC and CSRC have strictly restricted them from engaging in providing asset and portfolio management services and have particularly strengthened the supervision of online asset and portfolio management business. For example, the latest Monetary Policy Implementation report released by the PBOC points out the necessity of clearing out unlicensed online asset management institutions.
Additional comments regarding the legal situation for asset and portfolio management services or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area
It is worth noting that the Chinese authorities have started to clean up the asset management products designed as the “rigid payment” (i.e. the financial institutions guarantee principal and income for the products) since 2018 through the Guiding Opinions on Regulating the Asset Management Business of Financial Institutions (the Opinions). With the four-year rectification period for all the financial institutions, no “rigid payment” asset management product is allowed to be existing by today. Upon the issuance of the Opinions, all market players have made the material internal adjustment with respect to the products and operation rules to satisf