The 2026 Asset Management Annual Conference, hosted by 21st Century Business Herald and co-sponsored by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPD Bank), took place on September 12 at North Bund in Hongkou District. The event brought together high profile guests from financial regulators, leading think tanks, top tier asset management institutions and fintech enterprises.
With nearly two decades of development behind it, the Asset Management Annual Conference has grown into one of China’s most influential gatherings for the asset management sector. Centered on the theme “The AI Wave and High Quality Development of the Broad Based Asset Management Industry”, this year’s conference explored key topics including industry trends amid the AI revolution, multi asset allocation, divergent shifts in capital markets and drivers of market growth.
Deng Honghui, Editor in Chief of Southern Finance Omnimedia Group, and Xie Wei, President of SPD Bank, delivered opening remarks in succession. They extended welcomes to attendees and outlined the promising prospects for technology empowered asset management. Representatives from the Hongkou District Service Industry Development Office then gave a district profile presentation. They briefed finance sector participants on Hongkou’s geographic strengths, industrial policies and sound financial ecosystem as a key pillar of Shanghai’s global financial centre, and invited high calibre asset management firms to set up operations in the district to seize shared growth opportunities.
High impact insights were shared during the much anticipated keynote session. Li Yang, Member of the Academic Division of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Zhou Yanli, Former Vice Chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission; Wang Gang, Deputy Director General of the Financial Stability Bureau of the People’s Bank of China; and He Zhujun, Party Committee Member and Secretary General of the China Banking and Insurance Asset Management Association, offered in depth analyses covering the macroeconomic outlook, financial stability and the development of insurance linked asset management. Joe Amato, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Neuberger Berman, delivered a video address sharing global perspectives on asset management trends.
A launch ceremony was held on the sidelines of the conference. A panel discussion focused on the sector’s shift from quantitative expansion to qualitative upgrading. Panellists included Huang Danggui, Chairman of BOC Wealth Management; Lü Yanyan, Vice President of ICBC Wealth Management; Liu Xiangcheng, Vice President of ABC Wealth Management; Wang Qinghua, Deputy General Manager of Postal Savings Bank of China Wealth Management; and Zhang Chi, Director and General Manager of SPD Bank Fund. The session was moderated by Xue Hongli, Chief Economist, Director of Financial Markets and Executive Dean of the Research Institute at SPD Bank. Panellists reached a consensus that driven by advances in artificial intelligence, the asset management industry must accelerate digital transformation, strengthen investment research capabilities and risk management to deliver high quality growth.
The successful conference has not only created a high end dialogue platform for the financial community but also bolstered Hongkou District’s standing within asset management, injecting fresh financial momentum into the region’s high quality economic development.