Only 30% of Hong Kong finance professionals feel good about retirement

They have $4.6b in investable income but restrictions make it hard for them.

Up to $4.6b (HK$35.8b) of financeable income is generated by finance professionals in Hong Kong each year, but less than 1 in 3 are confident about their retirement plans, according to a joint study by wealth manager Endowus and Quinlan & Associates.

Hong Kong employs close to 237,000 finance industry professionals, the study said, with the investable income cited coming from those working in heavily regulated firms such as brokers, banks, and asset managers.

But only 30% of Hong Kong’s finance professionals said that they feel good about their retirement planning, the study found, based on a sample size of about 500 respondents.

About 1 in 3 (33%) said that their employer should do more to support them in their long-term planning, and only 11% see employee financial wellbeing as the main goal of employers’ benefits programmes.

Finance professionals face limited choices, heightened risk, and an inferior investing experience due to strict personal account dealing restrictions, said Benjamin Quinlan, CEO of Quinlan & Associates.

The restrictions exist to prevent insider trading, manage conflicts of interests, ensure market integrity, and ensure clients’ interests.