(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- China’s banking and insurance regulator has given the green light to the formation of a third wealth management joint venture.

Schroder BoCom Wealth Management marks another important milestone for Schroder’s long-term development in the country, Schroder Group Chief Executive Peter Harrison said in a statement yesterday.

“Schroders has long been committed to the Chinese market,” Harrison said. “The Chinese market represents a significant opportunity for Schroders, entailing the world’s second and third largest equity and bond markets respectively.”

Schroder Investment Management will have a 51 percent stake in the new Shanghai-based firm. BoCom Wealth Management will own the rest. This is the second time that Schroder and Bank of Communications have joined hands since 2005, when they launched Bank of Communications Schroder Fund Management.

China’s first such joint venture, Huihua Wealth Management, was set up by Europe’s biggest asset manager Amundi and BOC Wealth Management. The firm opened its doors last September. In the month before, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission also approved a JV between a unit of China Construction Bank, Temasek Holdings’ Fullerton Management and BlackRock Financial Management.

Schroder BoCom Wealth Management will help bring the professional experience of international asset managers to China and further enrich the wealth management products on offer in the market, an executive at BoCom Wealth Management told Yicai Global.

Like BlackRock, Schroder is using a ‘multi-pronged’ approach to explore the Chinese market. The British firm recently applied for a public mutual fund license and a few years ago it registered as a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise Private Fund Manager with the Asset Management Association of China.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Peter Thomas