Re-globalisation, digitalisation and ESG are currently offering attractive opportunities for outsized returns. By leveraging financial technologies, financial innovations and regulated capital markets in the US, Hi2 Global provides investors with access to these investments. Jerry Wang (pictured), founder and CEO of Hi2 Global, provides further details.
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Re-globalisation, digitalisation and ESG are currently offering attractive opportunities for outsized returns. By leveraging financial technologies, financial innovations and regulated capital markets in the US, Hi2 Global provides investors with access to these investments. Jerry Wang, founder and CEO of Hi2 Global, provides further details.
What are some of the biggest challenges your firm is facing in the current environment, and how are you overcoming them?
On the investment side, emerging markets, including Indonesia, India, Nigeria, Mexico, etc. have been burned by high inflation and currency depreciation across the board. These countries maintained strong trade surplus and GDP growth through the pandemic. Our investments have been performing well even though disrupted regularly by Covid-19 outbreaks and regulatory changes.
On the management side, it has been really difficult to hire investment professionals with consumer credit experience in New York. We have been building up our investment research, fund operations and risk management team in our Beijing office instead. Finance graduates from Columbia, NYU, Johns Hopkins, etc. returned to Beijing during the pandemic and joined us. They manage our credit investments exceptionally well, half a globe and 12 hours away.
What opportunities do you see emerging in the industry in the near future, and how are you positioning your firm to take advantage of these opportunities?
Hi2 Global invests based on three emerging themes: re-globalization, digitalization and ESG. Rebuilding global supply chain beyond China, signing Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, GDP growth of emerging markets bold strong investment returns in coming decades. Revolutionizing traditional finance, healthcare, real estate industries etc with digital technologies are inevitable and also opportunities for outsized returns.
With many investors increasingly interested in impact investing, how can managers create investment opportunities that align with their clients’ values?
Since inception in 2014 in New York, Hi2 Global has been incorporating ESG into its investment process. In 2022, we became a signatory of the United Nations (UN) Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment.
Noting that there are still many investors prioritizing returns over social and environmental impacts of the investments, we are committed to seeking investment opportunities with embedded ESG themes, such as financial inclusion, sustainable consumption, health improvement and environmental protection.
We have also noticed that many of the businesses with these ESG themes are innovation- and technology-driven, aiming to address some of the most urgent social and economic issues. By supporting these firms, the Hi2 Global Private Credit Fund has not only generated long-term returns for investors, but also brought positive environmental and social impacts.
Are you leveraging technology to increase efficiency and reduce costs in your firm’s operations? How have you been putting this into effect?
Hi2 Global is a fin-tech based global asset allocation platform. We provide so called Investment as a Service (IaaS) which leverages financial technologies, financial innovations and regulated capital markets in the US to provide access to exclusive alternative investment opportunities to all investors, particularly individual investors.
Hi2 Global Private Credit Fund relies on AI/ML based credit models and API systems to make investment decisions and to monitor loan performance.
With the increased focus on diversity and inclusion in the financial industry, what steps are you taking to ensure your firm is a diverse and inclusive workplace?
The majority of our investment team is made up of Asian Americans and 80% are women. Our female team members are taking investment manager, operations manager, and compliance manager positions and are on track to partnership. We believe diversity and inclusion are more than who we hire. It is also about how we maintain our culture. To create a truly diverse and inclusive environment, we make sure each employee is listened to and also make sure transparency and equal opportunities are provided.
Hi2 Global Private Credit Fund embeds diversity and inclusion into its investment thesis. Every investment is evaluated from both risk, return and also impact lenses.
Hi2 Global contributes part of its annual management fees to our own Hi2 Foundation. Through our private foundation, we have been supporting projects providing financial and education supports to Asians in America, women and children in Africa, and farmers in Indonesia.
Jerry Wang, Founder and CEO, Hi2 Global – Jerry founded Hi2 Global in New York in 2014, an Investment as a Service (IaaS) global asset allocation platform. Hi2 Global allocates capital in the US and to emerging markets through private credit and early stage venture funds. Before founding Hi2 Global, Jerry was an Investment Manager at University of Notre Dame Investment Office, managing alternative investments in the US and Asia. Jerry received Bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tsinghua University and Master’s degrees in engineering and finance from the University of Notre Dame. Jerry holds CFA and CAIA charters.
