China

Ant Financial and US-Based Vanguard to Offer Investment Advisory for Retail Consumers

Vanguard, the $5.9 trillion U.S.-based asset manager, and Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba’s fintech arm, announced a partnership to bring a new streamlined and broadly-available investment advisory service to retail consumers in China.

Combining Alipay’s technology and Vanguard’s expertise in investment management and advisory services, the two companies’ joint venture will provide a fund investment advisory service, as approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), to Chinese individual investors.

Tim Buckley

“Since opening our Shanghai office in 2017, we have been dedicated to bringing Vanguard’s way of investing to Chinese investors,”

said Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley.

“This venture marries Vanguard’s time-tested investment philosophy and approach with Ant’s digital platform and technology to fundamentally change for the better how individuals in China invest.”

According to their statement, the joint venture will provide customized services for investors based on their investment objectives, time horizon, and risk preferences, with minimum investments of RMB 800 (approximately USD 113) and accessible through Alipay and Ant Fortune, a comprehensive wealth management platform operated by Ant Financial. Previously, professional investment advisory services were only accessible to a small number of high-net-worth individuals in China.

said Eric Jing, Chairman and CEO of Ant Financial.

“Alipay is committed to making finance more inclusive for individuals and small and micro businesses through technology, and we’re partnering with financial institutions around the world to achieve this by building an open and technology-driven ecosystem.

Combining our technology with Vanguard’s investment advisory expertise will make high-quality wealth management services simpler, smarter and more inclusive.”