Fidelity International plans to cut 16% of China fund unit jobs amid a deepening market rout, sources say

Fund manager Fidelity International (FIL) is planning to lay off 20 people at its main China unit, two sources familiar with the matter said, a reduction that coincides with a downturn in China’s markets and as the firm cuts staff worldwide.

The cuts at FIL’s wholly owned China fund unit, which currently employs 120 staff, is equivalent to around 16 per cent of its total headcount, according to the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to media. The sources did not disclose the roles of the employees being laid off.

The firm, which manages US$776 billion of client assets, kicked off a broader cost reduction programme globally earlier this month which is expected to save around US$125 million in 2024 and make 9 per cent of its workforce redundant.

Asked about the China unit, a spokesperson for the London-based fund house said a review of previously reported global role reductions is ongoing across business lines and geographies and no decisions have been made about its China business.

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The downsizing in China by FIL underscores the challenges global asset managers face in navigating uncertainties in the world’s second largest economy, where stock market routs and a deepening debt crisis in the property sector and local governments have battered investor confidence.

China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index fell by almost 9 per cent over the last 12 months, and hit a five-year low last month.

Amid these difficult market conditions, Morgan Stanley laid off about 9 per cent of staff at its asset management unit in China in December, Reuters reported, citing sources.

US asset manager Matthews International Capital Management also said it was closing its Shanghai office.

London-based FIL secured regulatory approval to conduct business in China’s US$3.7 trillion mutual fund industry in late 2022. The unit manages three fund products with 6.7 billion yuan (US$931 million) in assets as of the end of January, company reports show.

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FIL China’s equity fund, its first mutual fund product, shrank 10.1 per cent by Monday since its April 2023 debut and underperformed the 8.6 per cent loss of a benchmark it has set, according to the company’s official website.

However, its two bond funds, both in operation for just a few months, are so far outperforming benchmarks.

China has more than 150 companies in its mutual fund industry, including foreign asset managers BlackRock, Schroders, and JPMorgan Asset Management.

Foreign financial companies were permitted to run their local businesses via wholly owned entities in 2019.

FIL was the former international investment arm of Boston-based Fidelity Investments before it was spun off.