China's second largest insurance company has hired Mercer to provide investment consulting services to its Hong Kong-based asset management group.
Ping An Asset Management, the asset management division of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, is launching a new investment platform, offering mainland Chinese the opportunity to invest overseas.
Investors will have the choice of investing via a range of single manager options and a multi-manager international equities option.
Mercer will advise Ping An in choosing managers for the single manager options and on the construction of a Mercer branded multi-manager investment option for the platform.
"Mercer's track record with similar ventures, combined with an extensive global investment research capability, made them the ideal choice to help us establish our investment platform," Ping An of China Asset Management (HK) chairman and Ping An Group senior vice president John Pearce said.
Pearce was formerly Colonial First State chief executive.
Mercer's investment consulting business leader for Asia Pacific Tony Cole said the move was part of the group's expansion into Hong Kong and mainland China.
The Ping An Group provides financial services for around 40 million individual clients and nearly two million corporate clients.
