Wealthy Chinese
Today I attended a meeting describing the Chartered Wealth Manager (CWM) qualification provided by the American Academy of Financial Management. I have thought about taking a CFA (Certified Financial Advisor) course, but the Chinese book store providing the course seemed kind of sketchy. This one seems more reliable, but it is more expensive.
Become a Financial Advisor?
I have applied to jobs at various banks for a role as a financial advisor in China, as well as a Chinese and Taiwanese equity analyst position with Bloomberg in Hong Kong, but have trouble convincing people I have the necessary qualifications to do these jobs or that my Chinese is good enough. With this kind of certification (obtained by taking the course and test in Chinese) people would believe that I am both qualified for the job and have outstanding Mandarin and Chinese literacy skills. So I am seriously considering taking this course or one like it, if not now than in several more months.
Anyway, here are some interesting statistics they provided at the meeting, having to do with the financial situation of the wealthy in mainland China:
Financial Situation of the Wealthy in China
- 10.9% of China’s population has 54.9% of its investable assets
- 0.7% of China’s population holds 20.3% of China’s investable assets
- The top 20% of China’s wage earners earn 50.7% of China’s wages (the percentage is 40.8% in America)
- There are 300,000 millionaires ($US) in mainland China
- 10,000,000 mainland Chinese have US$50,000 or more in investable assets
From the years 2000-2004, the investable assets of people living in the following cities increased at the following annual rates:
- Shenzhen (22.9%)
- Shanghai (28.1%)
- Beijing (22.6%)
- Guangzhou (15.9%)
Pretty impressive, huh? As long as nothing major gets in China’s way, this (wealth management) industry will probably continue to grow at impressive rates. My guess is there is a large untapped market out there at the moment. This may well be my next real career move in China. Think I should take the course?
