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Invest Shanghai
Shanghai has risen to fifth place in the 2025 Global Asset Management Center Index, according to a report released on Sept 23 by the CEIBS Lujiazui International Institute of Finance.
The report reflects a dynamic shift in the global asset management landscape, highlighting Shanghai's notable gains in asset management technology, underlying assets, and growth rate. These advances have positioned the city among the world's leaders in digital infrastructure, venture investment in the artificial intelligence sector, and patent output.
As a key hub for China's market-oriented asset management industry, Shanghai is home to large insurance and banking asset management companies, alongside a multi-layered ecosystem of public and private funds.
By June, Ping An Asset Management oversaw 5.9 trillion yuan ($828.26 billion) in assets under management, while Taikang Asset managed 4.2 trillion yuan, covering equities, bonds, private equity, and alternative investments. This reflects the role of asset managers within insurance groups.
Bank-affiliated wealth managers remain strong in fixed-income and cash products, with Schroders BOCOM Wealth managing approximately 1.7 trillion yuan.
Fullgoal Fund and China Universal Asset Management manage about 1.7 trillion yuan and 1.2 trillion yuan, respectively.
Securities asset managers, including Guotai Haitong Asset Management, manage several hundred billion yuan, drawing on their parent companies' trading strengths to actively participate in the market.
The city is also a core hub for quantitative and private equity funds. Minghong Investment, for example, has surpassed 70 billion yuan in AUM, ranking among China's largest quant managers.
In addition, the city hosts a significant share of family offices and private banking institutions. By mid-2025, 12 private banks reported combined AUM exceeding 18.8 trillion yuan, much of which is concentrated in Shanghai.
The global asset management industry continues to see steady innovation, with patent filings rising year by year. In 2024, 2,261 patents were filed worldwide in the sector, representing a compound annual growth rate of 19 percent over the past decade, well above global GDP growth.
Shanghai leads globally in the number of asset management patents, with its technological output ranking among the highest in the world. This strong performance underscores the city's robust innovation capacity in the sector.
For the first time, the index included "asset management technology" as a secondary indicator. The report stressed that technology will be the defining variable for industry competitiveness over the next decade.
Advances in artificial intelligence, large-model computing power, digital assets, and robo-advisory services are accelerating transformation across the investment value chain, spanning research, risk management, and client service.