China and Taiwan will be the big growth centres for mutual funds over the next five years according to Boston-based research house, Cerulli Associates.
In research released this week, Cerulli looks the dynamics of the Asian mutual funds market and concludes of the six main countries in the region, only two will see their marketplace rise between 2004 and 2009 – “the two Chinas: Taiwan and the mainland”.
“The rest will either maintain their marketshare (Singapore), or actually see a decline in their share (Korea, Hong Kong and India,” the Cerulli research said.
It said that overall, mutual fund assets in the region would rise to $US750 billion over the next five years, with the bank channel continuing to dominate.
“Our estimates suggest of all the meaningful distribution channels for mutual funds in Asia – direct, brokerages, and banks – the only one that will gain influence during the next five years is the bank channel,” Cerulli said.
