Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of HKU Business School and Chair of Economics, framed the launch as the continuation of a strategy that began nearly a decade ago. In his welcome remarks, he noted that the school has been nurturing future wealth management professionals since 2017, and that wealth management has become increasingly important in economic development as Hong Kong leverages its unique position connecting the Chinese Mainland with the rest of the world. He added that the sector will be of even greater significance in Hong Kong’s upcoming Five-Year Plan, signalling that the government’s own planning documents are expected to elevate the industry’s role in the city’s economic future.

The dean was candid about the environment in which the Academy will operate. Hong Kong, he said, is navigating an era filled with uncertainties, shaped by rapid changes in the global landscape and the fast-paced evolution of artificial intelligence. His argument was that the city must respond to these challenges by continuously strengthening its overall competitiveness, and that the Academy is designed as part of that response. By providing an international platform that brings together government, industry, academia and research, the institution aims to act as a key driver of the wealth management ecosystem, contributing through three channels that the school identifies as thought leadership, talent development and industry engagement.

The timing of the launch was a central theme of the ceremony. Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, delivered the keynote address and told the audience that the Academy’s establishment comes at a pivotal moment as the industry enters a new chapter. He described the idea of connecting the dots as both a fitting ambition for the Academy and a timely one for Hong Kong’s current development needs. In his telling, the city having emerged as the world’s largest cross-boundary wealth management centre immediately raises a follow-up question: what kind of leadership does that top position actually represent? It is a framing that shifts the conversation from raw market size to the quality of the professional ecosystem that sustains it.

Hui also used the address to outline the policy work under way in government. He said continuous policy enhancements include refining the preferential tax regimes for funds, single family offices and carried interest, broadening the range of qualifying investments to cover private credit, digital assets and precious metals, and strengthening connectivity with Chinese Mainland markets. Notably, he argued that the growth of the wealth management sector should reach beyond the assets it manages, extending into skilled careers, investment in enterprises and support for communities. That wider definition of success matters for a university-led academy, because it positions education not merely as a pipeline for asset managers but as a contributor to the sector’s broader social and economic footprint.

The ceremony also featured a panel discussion under the theme of what comes next for Hong Kong after reaching number one. Three speakers took part: Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury; Aveline San, Chief Executive Officer and Banking Head of Citi Hong Kong, Chair of Citibank (China) and Convenor of the Financial Services Development Council’s Human Capital Committee; and Lok Yim, Regional Head of HSBC Private Bank, Asia Pacific. The discussion was moderated by Professor Anna Wong, Director of the HKU Business School Wealth Management Academy, whose own appointment to lead the new institution reflects the school’s decision to place an academic at the centre of its industry-facing agenda.

Chan laid out three priorities for consolidating Hong Kong’s position as the leading international wealth management centre. The first is to proactively reach out to more jurisdictions to showcase the city’s unique advantages. The second is to continuously enhance policy in line with market development trends such as fintech and green finance so that competitiveness is maintained as the industry evolves. The third is to strengthen connections with the global financial sector and with different markets. Taken together, the three points sketch a strategy in which regulatory agility and international outreach reinforce each other, with Hong Kong competing on both product breadth and access rather than on any single advantage.

On the question of people, Chan offered a measured view of the sector’s most pressing constraint. He acknowledged that a talent shortage is a possible bottleneck for the industry, but argued that it also reflects the sector’s rapid growth rather than decline. Alongside government training initiatives, he said, the education sector can play a key role in helping young talent upskill and gain industry exposure through internship programmes that meet the sector’s evolving demands. That is precisely the territory the new Academy intends to occupy, and its programme of activities suggests a deliberately practical orientation rather than a purely academic one.

The Academy builds on an existing educational foundation. In 2017, HKU Business School launched the Bachelor of Finance in Asset Management and Private Banking, the first undergraduate programme of its kind in Asia, followed by the Master of Family Wealth Management and the Master of Wealth Management programmes. With the Academy now in place, the school’s activities, supported by Bank of China (Hong Kong), will include directing students toward internship opportunities, organising salons, forums and a wealth management challenge, and offering scholarship programmes. The institution also plans to facilitate engagement between students and industry professionals through talks and other activities designed to foster collaboration between industry and academia and to enable knowledge exchange. An advisory committee comprising industry representatives and scholars specialising in finance, investment and wealth management will advise on the development of the Academy’s programmes and its strategic direction.

For HKU Business School itself, the launch adds a specialised institution to a portfolio that has been climbing the research rankings. Established in 2001, the school is ranked number one in Asia and number six globally in the 2025 UTD Business School Research Rankings, and number one in Asia and number eleven globally in the 2026 Financial Times Research Ranking. It holds accreditation from both EQUIS and AACSB and operates an international network extending to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Ho Chi Minh City. The significance of the new Academy, however, may lie less in rankings than in the model it represents: a formal, funded bridge between a government that is rewriting tax and investment rules, a financial industry that is short of skilled people, and a university that has been building wealth management curricula since 2017. If Hong Kong is to translate its newly won number-one status into durable leadership, the Academy’s founders are betting that the decisive variable will be talent, and that the university is the place to produce it.

Subject of Research: University-led wealth management education and talent development in Hong Kong

Article Title: HKU Business School launches the first wealth management academy nurturing future leaders and strengthening Hong Kong’s global leadership

Article References: HKU Business School launches the first wealth management academy nurturing future leaders and strengthening Hong Kong’s global leadership. (n.d.). Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: HKU Business School, wealth management, Hong Kong, Bank of China, financial services, talent development, private banking, asset management, family offices, fintech, green finance, financial services policy