CPPIB cuts 10% of Hong Kong jobs on China stock slump

financialpost.com:

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has eliminated about a dozen positions in its Greater China public equities team this week, representing close to 10 per cent of its Hong Kong staff, a person familiar with the matter said.

The Toronto-based pension fund has communicated the cuts to its staff and will transfer the portfolios of the affected employees to other investment teams, the person said, asking not to be identified because the firm doesn’t comment on personnel matter. Following the reduction, the firm will have about 140 positions in Hong Kong, the person said.

Banks and investment firms have been slashing jobs related to China amid a prolonged selloff in the nation’s stock market, hit by a deep housing slump and sputtering economic growth. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan last year shut down its China public equities investing team based out of Hong Kong, and has paused direct investing in private assets in China, people familiar with the situation said at the time.

“As an active investment manager, CPP Investments continuously adjusts investment measures globally based on macroeconomic factors, and risks and opportunities found in different companies, sectors, countries and/or regions,” the firm said in an emailed statement in response to questions on the job cuts. “China continues to be a key part of the portfolio.”

Still, a shift away from Chinese equities by global long-term investors has taken a pause, with some funds getting less bearish, according to Morgan Stanley. Outflows from Chinese equities slowed at the end of February and regional active managers started adding growth and tech stocks.

As of December, the pension fund has net investments of $137 billion in Asia Pacific. Of that, 36 per cent were in