China International Capital Corp ventured into wealth management more than two decades ago, and has gone from strength to strength. In late 2019, it officially launched CICC Wealth Management, which incorporates CICC’s wealth management business founded in 2007 and that of the former China Investment Securities Co.
Wu Bo is president of CICC Wealth Management, which provides wealth management services including trading, investment management, financing and other solutions, all of which are complemented by CICC’s unrivalled investment banking franchise. The integration of the two platforms was a strategic move by CICC – and one that paid off handsomely last year.
CICC’s wealth management business expanded at an impressive pace. By the end of 2020, it had 3.69 million clients, up from 3.27 million a year earlier. Their total account balance stood at Rmb2.6 trillion ($404 billion), showing a 40% annual increase.
The number of high net-worth clients jumped to 26,000, from 19,000 a year earlier, while their total account balance surged 46% to Rmb672.5 billion. Even though the minimum asset threshold for CICC’s HNW clients is only Rmb3 million, their average account balance was Rmb26.2