Portfolio of the winning team achieved an annualized return of 6.37%, helping celebrity Shek Sau to realize the goal to grow his wealth and earning the team a study tour to Europe

Organized by the Hang Seng Management College (HSMC) and sponsored by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, the “HSMC — Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management ETF Investment Competition 2013” (ETF refers to Exchange Traded Fund) which lasted for four months has eventually come to a fruitful end, and the results of the competition has been announced today. Based on the four key criteria established for the competition (see Annex 1), students from team C, with the artist Shek Sau as their client, were selected as the winning team by the panel of judges formed by representatives appointed by the organizer, including Professor So Wai Man, Dean, School of Business BBA, HSMC, Dr Tung Wing Chiu, Brian, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics and Finance, HSMC, and Professor Chow Ying Foon, Associate Professor, Department of Finance, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The “HSMC — Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management ETF Investment Competition 2013” officially started in September last year. It is the first ETF investment competition in Hong Kong focused on investor education. It aims to provide an appropriate platform for college students to invest in capital markets outside Hong Kong through the relevant investment education and activities, and therefore to enable such students to equip themselves with proper investment knowledge and attitude, and get ready to enter the society in the future.  During the competition, market was deeply affected by a series of significant political and economic issues around the world, including partial shutdown of the US federal government agencies, the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee and the continuous tensions in East Asia.

With a virtual capital of HK$500,000, the three participating teams made investment for three celebrities who are of different ages and with different investment goals and risk appetites in response to the global economic environment by applying the investment knowledge and analytical skills they have learned. The competition ended on 31 December 2013 and the total annual rates of return of each participating team were as follows:

Professor So Wai Man, Dean, School of Business BBA, HSMC, said, “I am pleased to witness the growth and transformation of the participating students during the past four months. HSMC has long been encouraging students to apply theories learnt in a flexible way and this competition offered them an opportunity to practice what they have learned and accumulate experience. The competition not only allowed the students to apply different investment strategies and master different types of analytical skills, but also inspired them with knowledge beyond technical levels. Students would be able to learn that, apart from pursuing desirable returns, they may formulate a comprehensive asset management plan only if they think from the perspective of the client by considering certain factors such as investment needs, investment philosophy and risk tolerance level of the client in real cases. Meanwhile, students’ sensitivity to international affairs was also greatly enhanced as the DB ETFs they invested in during the competition cover various assets from different markets. I believe that students will be well-equipped to work in the financial industry after graduation by joining this competition.”

Anson Chow, Assistant Vice President, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, said, “We are honoured to support HSMC in holding such meaningful event. Also, we hope that the students can develop a better understanding of investment and wealth management through this competition. As the largest ETF provider in Hong Kong, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management always considers the promotion of investment education and talent development as part of our commitment to corporate social responsibility. By interacting with each of the participating team, we noticed that the students were becoming more mature in terms of both investment skills and market senses during the four-month period. Coupled with both theoretical know-how and experience, the students have now laid down a solid foundation upon which they can become the new generation of talents in the financial and investment industry.”

The client of the winning team of the “HSMC — Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management ETF Investment Competition 2013” was Shek Sau, an artist with a family who is approaching his retirement age. This team formulated a principal guaranteed investment portfolio based on the investment needs and risk tolerance level of Shek Sau.  The final annual rate of return of such investment portfolio was 6.37%, outperforming the inflation(1) and thereby achieving the goal to guarantee the client’s principal. When Tsang Kee Yin, team leader of the winning team Group C was notified of his championship, he said, “The four-month competition enabled us to have a better understanding of ETFs, investment portfolio management as well as the global financial conditions. Compared to short-term speculations, long-term investment portfolios are more dependent on our strategies, insights and analyses. We believe that the competition will be of great help for us to join the industry in the future and manage our own wealth. Participating in this competition has given us a very valuable opportunity to enhance our knowledge and obtain practical experience in investing in ETFs. By constructing an ETF portfolio of the right mix, we were able to diversify our investment portfolio through widening our exposure to overseas markets and other asset classes. This ETF portfolio construction process has undoubtedly expanded both our horizon and our sensitivities towards macro-economic, political and social trends.

Tsang Kee Yin, winner of the competition, and his teammates will have the opportunity to join a study tour to Europe.

Note:

(1) According to the Census and Statistics Department, overall consumer prices rose by 4.3% in November 2013 over the corresponding month of the previous year.