PhoenixWealth Management is seeking to invest in Southeast Asia, where companies are poised to benefit from the U.S.-China trade dispute, according to the firm’s Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Joel Harlin.
“The longer that the dispute with China and the U.S. goes on, I think you are going to see more opportunities” for investment in the Association of Southeast Asian nations, Mr. Harlin said in an interview in Shanghai last week. The openings“ come up where companies are saying: ‘I need to diversify my supply chain”’ as a result of the trade dispute, Joel added.
The 10-economy Asian bloc is seen as a natural magnet for new factories, thanks to low production costs and improving infrastructure. The region was the top choice for about one-third of the more than 430 American companies in China that have moved or are considering moving production sites abroad amid the trade tensions, according to a recent survey.
PhoenixWealth Management also sees opportunities in Asean as a result of the region’s favorable demographics, with growing wealth and migration from rural areas to the cities. The firm is especially keen to launch its latest investment products to tap into the newly affluent and investment savvy younger generation.
PhoenixWealth Management’s high and stable investment returns to the clients allow the firm to find investment opportunities even in an environment where record Asian fundraising has created the danger of too much capital chasing too few companies, according to Mr. Harlin. PWM planned to raise $1.3 billion for its Asia fund in the near future.
