Eastspring Investments and Barings have both reduced headcount in their China hedge fund operations as they battle to gain traction in the RMB6tn ($840bn) local market, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites people familiar with the matter as revealing that seven jobs, accounting for almost a third of Eastspring’s onshore hedge fund team, have been cut in recent months, and that the company, which is the asset management arm of prudential, is also considering shutting some of its local hedge funds to focus on overseas markets instead.
Staff reductions have also been made at Barings, a unit of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co with $347bn in AUM, according to Bloomberg’s sources, with the business reportedly planning to focus more on the Qualified Domestic Limited Partners program, which raises money from local clients to invest in overseas assets.
In reponse to a request for a comment from Bloomberg, Barings said that its “onshore team resourcing has remained relatively stable as of today,” and that its commitment to both its domestic and offshore China businesses remains unchanged.