A subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK&Co) has teamed up with GAM Investments to manage and distribute GAM's funds in Greater China, amid rising demand for diversity in financial services.

Sun Hung Kai Capital Partners, a unit of the financial services company founded by the tycoon Fung King-hey, has announced a strategic partnership with GAM.

"This strategic alliance combines our complementary strengths and resources, significantly improving our client service and investment solution capabilities," said SHK&Co's deputy CEO Tony Edwards. "Together, we are well-positioned to provide exceptional offerings that cater to the evolving needs of our clients in the region."

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The alliance will launch an alternative wholesale investment product later this year for family offices and institutional investors, Edwards said, without divulging details.

A signage of GAM Investments on an office building in Lugano, Switzerland. Photo: Shutterstock alt=A signage of GAM Investments on an office building in Lugano, Switzerland. Photo: Shutterstock>

The global market for alternative investments soared to a peak of US$1.71 trillion in 2021, as the era of zero interest rates and cheap funds was drawing to a close, according to data from JPMorgan. The market shrank 25.4 per cent last year from the peak as central banks raised interest rates to rein in inflation. Still, alternative assets are essential to help investors diversify their portfolios and income sources, as well as reduce the volatility in their investments.

GAM was spun out of Julius Baer and listed in 2009 on the SIX Swiss exchange, with 63.8 billion Swiss francs (US$72.2 billion) in assets at the end of last year, according to the company. Its assets comprised 42 per cent in fixed-income products, 31 per cent in multi-asset products, 22 per cent in equities and 5 per cent in alternatives. GAM is now backed by Xavier Niel, the French telecom tycoon.

Allocations to alternatives could grow significantly, GAM's global head of client solutions Rossen Djounov said, and the partnership with SHK&Co could help develop products for global investors.

SHK&Co shares a name with Hong Kong's largest property developer, reflecting the shared heritage when Fung, Kwok Tak-seng and Lee Shau-kee founded the group in 1969. The company is now backed by the family of the group executive chairman Lee Seng Huang. Sun Hung Kai Properties was listed separately in 1972 and has been controlled by the Kwok family since then.