Several live surveys were conducted during the panel discussion session in ETF Intelligence 2012 Hong Kong. In percentage terms, the survey results we gathered from the institutional delegates presented in the seminar are fairly in line with the results we gathered from our first Morningstar ETF Centre Survey. Moreover, the results we gathered in ETF Intelligence 2012 Singapore are quite similar to Hong Kong’s.
Most institutional delegates believed that there was not enough to choose from on the ETF menu in Hong Kong (83%), and 80% delegates thought ETF liquidity mattered to them. Keynote speaker Chris Johnson, Director of Listed Derivatives Sales, Knight Capital Limited, also emphasised in his speech, it is very important to assess an ETF’s liquidity before investing, not just on-screen liquidity but on OTC liquidity as well.
Regarding the hot topic of physical versus synthetic replication, the results revealed that just over 50% of delegates preferred physical replication ETFs, which was lower than the results we gathered from our ETF Centre Survey (77%) for the professional investors; while more delegates preferred synthetic replication ETFs (17%), than what we found from the ETF Centre Survey (8%). Marco Montanari, Head of Deutsche Bank ETFs and db-X funds, Asia Deutsche Bank Hong Kong, shared his view that looking simply at “physical versus synthetic” could be somewhat incomplete, each replication method has their pros and cons and offering different market access.
56% delegates agreed that local regulators have done enough to safeguard ETFs. Ben Johnson, Director of Passive Fund Research in Morningstar Europe and Asia, also commented in his presentation: “In Hong Kong the Securities and Futures Commission was a first mover in handing down what we view to be investor-friendly regulation specific to synthetic ETFs.” 
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