In the insurance asset management industry with more than 20 trillion yuan in hand, Chinese Life Asset Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Life Assets") is a legend and an excellent sample of the entire asset management industry.
Since 2016, the scale of entrusted assets of China Life Assets has entered the fast lane. As of June 2021, China Life's assets under management exceeded 4.3 trillion yuan, making it the largest asset management institution in China. Among them, the total scale of third-party assets exceeds 470 billion yuan, and the market ranking ranks first in the industry.
"The goal of China Life Assets does not stop there." Wang Junhui, secretary of the party committee and president of China Life Assets, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China Securities News a few days ago, "We must achieve the second development leap in asset scale through endogenous growth and epitaxial expansion, and strive to exceed 6 trillion yuan in asset management in 2025, ranking among the top 30 in the global asset management industry." ”
Wang Junhui, Party Secretary and President of China Life Assets
The management code of 4 trillion assets in hand
Those who do not seek the overall situation are not enough to seek a domain. In Wang Junhui's view, in the era of large asset management, the unique reason why China Life Assets can manage 4 trillion yuan of assets is that it stands in the overall situation and builds the company into an all-round asset management institution.
Wang Junhui believes that all-round asset companies need to have a two-wheel drive model of one "main growth pole" and three "new growth poles", as well as the management capabilities of the coordinated development of the company's own level and subsidiaries.
The so-called "main growth pole" of one party, that is, the continuous inflow of entrusted funds brought about by the good development of the main insurance industry. "In recent years, driven by the strategy of revitalizing China Life, the demand for new insurance fund allocation in Chinese Life has continued to grow steadily, and the entrusted entrustment system of various entrusting parties in the system has become increasingly mature, bringing about the continuous inflow of insurance funds in the entrusted system." At the same time, the growth of endogenous investment income continues to increase the scale of assets, forming a pattern of internal mainly, outsourcing and self-operation as a supplement. Wang Junhui said.
Venezuela is the "stabilizer", and outsourcing and self-operation are the "boosters" of the strategic synergy benefits are remarkable. In the first half of 2021, Chinese Life achieved a premium income of 442.299 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year on a high base, and remained in a leading position in the market.
At the same time, the leapfrog development of the three-party "new growth pole" is an important boost to the growth of asset scale, and the current third-party business scale of China Life Assets at this level exceeds 180 billion yuan.
In Wang Junhui's view, the rapid development of third-party business at this level is mainly due to two reasons: on the one hand, it is necessary to promote the transformation from absolute return to net worth management, from account to product, and improve the investment management capabilities of third-party funds. On the other hand, we have strengthened the development of standardized asset management products, created a more professional, efficient and modern product line, and built a combined insurance asset management product strategy system with insurance capital characteristics, covering three major categories and 20 sub-categories, and expanded the market space of insurance asset management products.
Strive to be the industry's green investment leader
The use of assets is the touchstone to test the asset management capabilities of China Life. Wang Junhui said frankly that China Life Assets has always insisted on finding the direction of long-term capital core allocation from the national key strategy, and has formed an asset allocation methodology with National Life characteristics.
"The characteristics of long-term institutional investors are to base themselves on a long-term perspective, strive to find certainty in the complex and changeable domestic and international situation and economic and financial environment, and play an important role in the 'stabilizer' and 'ballast stone' of large investment institutions." In this regard, Wang Junhui proposed the investment philosophy and allocation strategy of "long-term investment, value investment and core investment".
Wang Junhui likens long-term investment to the "rose of time". He believes that long-term investment is to accompany high-quality enterprises with long-term growth capabilities, let time accumulate wealth for themselves, and long-term investment concepts are naturally compatible with the attributes of insurance funds. Although the equity market fluctuates relatively largely, long-term investment can really exert the powerful charm of "the rose of time"; value investment is research-driven investment, that is, to really start from fundamental analysis, to find things with real investment value, rather than blindly chasing the hot spots of the market; core investment should focus on core industries and tracks, invest in a group of leading enterprises with strong competitive advantages and a high probability of growing into companies with international influence, and achieve return on investment while supporting the development of high-quality enterprises.
Where will the main growth points of China Life assets be in the future? Wang Junhui gave the answer - "double carbon strategy" is the largest and most far-reaching investment theme of this century, which will give birth to new investment opportunities and is the greatest certainty in the future global economic operation and capital market uncertainty.
"As China's economy shifts to high-quality development, the operation of the capital market and the logic of institutional investment are being profoundly reshaped. Whoever can take the lead in improving the capability spectrum in the field of green investment is the leader of the future capital market. Wang Junhui said.
It is understood that green investment, as the core strategy of the business development of China Life Asset, has been fully incorporated into the company's "14th Five-Year Plan" development plan, as an important starting point for grasping opportunities and opening up new bureaus in the medium and long term, and gradually forming a set of green investment management system framework. Up to now, the company has invested more than 180 billion yuan in green bonds, and the stock of green equity investment has exceeded 100 billion yuan, and the scale of new green investment last year alone exceeded 40 billion yuan.
For example, in recent years, China Life Asset Has strategically invested in a series of major clean energy equity projects such as Qinghai Yellow River Hydropower, CGNpc and CLP, and has joined hands with China Debt to launch the first ESG bond index in the insurance asset management industry, "China Bond - China Life Asset ESG Credit Selection Index". It can be said that the green investment of China Life Assets has spread throughout all regions and fields of the country.
Facing the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China Life Assets has a longer-term plan. Wang Junhui revealed that at present, the company is comprehensively building a "green engine" plan, building a complete top-level design, forming an effective working framework, and integrating the green concept system into the whole process of investment management. "We will focus on key areas such as environmental protection and energy conservation, cleaner production, clean energy, ecological environment, green infrastructure upgrading, and green services, refine the investment process, improve evaluation standards, and enrich relevant green indices; focus on improving the layout of green product lines around customer needs, strive to cultivate star products, create comprehensive green investment solutions, promote green investment characteristics, productization, and branding, and strive to become a leader in green investment in the insurance asset management industry."
In addition to the main line of green investment, "science and technology" and "security" also have great allocation opportunities in China's capital market. "In the future, whether it is the demand side or the supply side, the development speed and development quality of the science and technology track will enter a new stage." Wang Junhui believes that under the guidance of national strategies and policy support, it is necessary to increase investment and reserves in the fields of industrial chain supply chain security, energy security, food security and people's life safety, and it is expected to usher in new development opportunities.
Lay out new business growth points
China Life Assets has a higher and farther goal, achieving a second development leap in the scale of assets under management - ranking among the top 30 in the global asset management industry. Wang Junhui said that the asset management industry is a typical scale-driven industry, so continuously improving the ability to serve the main insurance business, stabilizing the contribution of investment income, and promoting the healthy development of the main insurance industry is the first essence of National Life Assets.
"Long-term stable premium income is the core competitive source of insurance capital utilization. Only when the main insurance business has developed, can the use of insurance funds have a basis and occupy a stable place in the fierce capital market competition. Wang Junhui pointed out that China Life Assets must continue to consolidate and develop the investment system with National Life characteristics, and promote the "double improvement" of investment capabilities and investment returns through the efficient linkage of assets and liabilities.
While helping the main insurance business to become bigger, better and stronger, China Life Assets will deeply grasp the development opportunities brought by the "double cycle" development pattern, actively explore new market areas, and lay out new business growth points.
Wang Junhui introduced, on the one hand, the layout of a new "track" of wealth management. Focusing on the goal of achieving common prosperity, firmly grasping the increase in residents' asset allocation and wealth management needs brought about by the continuous growth of the scale of middle-income groups in the future, vigorously innovating and launching more financial products that meet the needs of wealth management, forming wealth management service capabilities for the whole market and the whole life cycle, establishing a multi-level and wide-coverage wealth management system, and creating favorable conditions for residents to increase property income.
On the other hand, we will seize the trend of global capital allocation of Chinese assets, plan to open up new markets for cross-border business, make full use of Chinese life brand resources and customer resources, focus on key overseas target customers such as sovereign wealth funds, pensions, insurance companies, etc., establish overseas fundraising channels for third-party business through the synergy between the company's own level and subsidiaries, actively cultivate product development capabilities close to the needs of overseas institutions, and promote major progress in cross-border business.
With excellent brand image, first-class ability performance, excellent talent team, rich product system, high-quality customer resources, strong operational capabilities and professional service system as the standard, we strive to build the company into the core competitiveness of Chinese life development, and become China's leading and international first-class asset management institutions.
This is the ideal in the heart of China Life Assets, and it is also the action route under the feet of China Life Assets. China Life Assets is steadily moving towards the development goal of a world-class asset management institution.
