Investing in China ETFs & China Roboadvisers

In this article, we will look into the rise of China ETFs & China robo advisers for automated trading of clients' investment portfolios.

We will look into how to invest in China ETFs & how to invest in China robo advisers..

We will look at China roboadvisors for investing both in the local currency in RMB and offshore investment options in foreign currencies in USD/GBP/EUR.

Exchange Traded Funds are basically index trackers. There are many China ETF index trackers that now follow a basket of securities in China. These China ETFs come in leveraged versions, up to 3x China ETFs and unleveraged versions which closely track one of the many China indexes.

China ETF List 2019

Top Ten China ETFs by AUM 

Here are the top 10 China ETFs by size in USD - assets under management. All these ETFs are listed on the NYSE in the U.S.A.

Symbol ETF Name

1. FXI    iShares China Large-Cap ETF     
2. MCHI    iShares MSCI China ETF     
3. KWEB    KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF     
4. ASHR    Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares Fund     
5. GXC    SPDR S&P China ETF      
6. CQQQ    Invesco China Technology ETF          
7. YINN    Direxion Daily China 3x Bull Shares         
8. KBA    KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A Share ETF     
9. PGJ    Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF      
10. CHIQ    Global X MSCI China Consumer Discretionary ETF

FXI, the largest China ETF, now has over $6.4 billion under management. CHIQ, at the bottom of the list has only $140m under management

iShares China ETF, Vanguard China ETF, Fidelty ETF, Wisdom Tree China ETF, Powershares China ETF, Claymore China ETF, Invesco China ETF, Kraneshares China ETF, Direxion ETF, Invesco China ETF, Global X China ETF, X-Trackers China ETF, ProShares ETF - the list of China index ETFs is exhausitive. You can see a list of the top 52 China ETFs here.

China ETF 3x List

Here is a list of leveraged China ETFs in USD. This includes China 3x ETFs and China 2x ETFs. The "Bull" China ETFs invest in a rising equity environment, whilst the "Bear" China ETFs or "Short "China ETFs are betting that China equities will fall. Normally, these leveraged ETFs are only used in day trading due to the volatility and also the "decay" from holding them for long periods of time.

• Direxion Daily China Bull 3x Shares (YINN B) ...  Leverage 3x
• Direxion Daily China Bear 3x Shares (YANG A-) ... Leverage 3x
• Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares (CHAU B) ... Leverage 2x
• ProShares Ultra FTSE China 25 (XPP C) ... Leverage 2x
• ProShares UltraShort FTSE China 25 (FXP B) ... Leverage 2x

China ETFs in RMB on the Shanghai Stock Exchange

You can see a list of China ETFs on the SSE here.

They are managed by Bosera Asset Management Co, China Asset Management Co., ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co.,Ltd., HFT Investment Management Co., Ltd., Hua An Fund Management Co., Ltd. and many others. It is more difficult to find perfomance and data in English on these products, returns & fees.

List of China Roboadvisors

Here is a list of roboadvisers based in China in Yuan / Reminimbi (RMB) and overseas roboadvisers based in USD/EUR/GBP.

China Roboadvisers in RMB

These are local Chinese-based robo advisers who want to invest in stocks or ETFs in Remnimbi / Yuan.

China robo advisory options:

• ICBC - Minimum investment: 10,000 Yuan
• Shanghai Pudong Development - Minimum investment: 1,000 yuan
• Industrial Bank - Minimum investment: 5,000 Yuan 
• Ping An Bank - Minimum investment: 5,000 yuan
• China Merchants - Minimum investment: 20,000 yuan.

China Roboadvisers in USD

These roboadvisers mainly focuses on Chinese with overseas bank accounts and expats living in China with USD/EUR/GBP offshore bank accounts who need a managed brokerage account service. These roboadvisers automatically invest in ETFs in USD, EUR or GBP on a client's behalf.

• The Money Pouch - Minimum investment 10,000 USD/EUR/GBP

The Money Pouch automatically invests clients money via Interactive Brokers with cash deposits protected by both the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) in the USA and Lloyd's of London insurance for a maximim of $900,000 in cash and $30 million for securities, subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million. You can read more about security here.

A Robo Adviser that Invest in China ETFs

If you are looking for a robo advisor in China that invests in the Chinese stock market in RMB, ICBC is one of the big four banks in China.

If you are looking for an offshore robo advisory service that invests in Chinese ETFs, but hedges it with investments in US equities, US treasuries, gold ETFs and cash for safety, then you can download the free Money Pouch app on iTunes or Google Play.

The Money Pouch invests in Chinese ETFs in its "adventurous strategy" for higher risk investors, but still uses asset diversification, momentum strategies and hedging to reduce risk.

What is a China Robo Advisor?