▶ Watch the full ETF TV interview: Beyond Market Access: MSCI on the Next Phase of ETF Connect
London – Thursday, October 8, 2026 – Ketaki Garg, APAC Head of Quantitative Index Research Solutions at MSCI, joined ETF TV’s Deborah Fuhr and Margareta Hricova to discuss how ETF Connect is reshaping cross-border investing and giving mainland Chinese investors greater access to international markets and diversified investment opportunities.
Garg noted that investor demand across Asia Pacific is increasingly focused on strategies such as income generation, climate-transition aware, thematic exposures and managing concentration risk. While high-dividend strategies remain popular, investors are exploring other approaches to enhance income and yield. Interest is also growing in themes such as artificial intelligence, electrification and rare earth minerals.
Since its launch in 2022, ETF Connect has grown significantly, particularly through the Southbound channel, reflecting strong demand from mainland Chinese investors. The channel has also emerged as a complement to Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) routes for mainland Chinese investors seeking global exposure. More ETFs now provide access to overseas equity markets, including U.S. equities, highlighting investor interest in greater global diversification. MSCI works closely with ETF issuers to translate a thematic view into a transparent, rules-based and investable index, tailored to their specific product needs. Many of these indexes are built on a 65/35 framework, anchoring the core allocation in Hong Kong Southbound-eligible securities while allocating the remainder to targeted international exposures.
The discussion also covered the latest development of MSCI's ETF Connect Index Series and the considerations involved in meeting regulatory requirements while addressing diversification rules and demand for differentiated exposures. Looking ahead, MSCI is exploring the next-generation of ETF Connect indexes, which may combine different sector, factor and thematic exposures across Hong Kong and other international markets while remaining compliant with ETF Connect requirements. One direction under exploration is asymmetric design, where the Hong Kong Southbound sleeve serves as a stable core while the international sleeve carries a more targeted exposure, rather than mirroring the same theme across both sides of the 65/35 structure.
"ETF Connect has become an increasingly important gateway for mainland Chinese investors seeking access to global investment opportunities," said Garg. "As the market evolves, innovation will increasingly come from differentiated exposures and more sophisticated portfolio construction."
The interview highlighted ETF Connect's growing role in expanding investment choice, broadening access to cross-border investment opportunities and supporting the continued development of Asia Pacific's ETF ecosystem.
▶ Watch the full ETF TV interview: Beyond Market Access: MSCI on the Next Phase of ETF Connect
▶Learn more: MSCI ETF Connect IndexSeries
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