The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Asian independent wealth management platform Endowus Smart Investment and Quinlan & Associates jointly released a report stating that the financial services industry is the largest employment pillar in Hong Kong, employing about 237,000 financial professionals, and the industry contributes 26% of the local GDP; the total income that this group can invest is as high as HK$35.8 billion (equivalent to US$4.6 billion), mainly from employees of licensed regulated institutions such as banks, brokerage firms, and asset management institutions.
The report points out that due to personal account transaction (PAD) regulations, financial practitioners face multiple barriers to personal investment. According to the survey, one-third of the financial practitioners surveyed want their employers to provide more supporting support for retirement investments, yet only 11% of institutions include employees' financial health as a core benefit goal, and supporting services are seriously inadequate.
Investment income data is clearly divided: Statistics from the Endowus platform show that financial practitioners who participated in employee-only investment plans in 2025 had a weighted return on capital of 17.0% for the whole year; peers who did not participate in exclusive plans and invested on their own had a return of only 10.6%. The income gap between the two is significant.
Analysts believe that the purpose of PAD control is to prevent insider trading and control conflicts of interest, but strict prior approval, transaction restrictions, and position declaration rules greatly raise the individual investment threshold for employees; while employers establish pre-approved employee investment plans, they can simplify the compliance approval process, reduce the risk of non-compliance, and help employees obtain a more stable long-term return on investment, taking into account compliance management and talent welfare construction.