Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Futu Holdings third quarter 2022 conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a Q&A session. Today's conference call is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host for today's conference call, Daniel Yuan, Chief of Staff and Head of IR at Futu. Please go ahead, sir.
Thanks, operator, and thank you for joining us today to discuss our third quarter 2022 earnings results. Joining me on the call today are Mr. Leaf Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Arthur Chen, Chief Financial Officer, and Robin Xu, Senior Vice President. As a reminder, today's call may include forward-looking statements which represent the company's belief regarding future events, which, by their nature, are not certain and are outside of the company's control. Forward-looking statements involving inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. For more information about the potential risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the SEC, including its registration statement. With that, I will now turn the call over to Leaf. Leaf will make his comments in Chinese, and I will translate.
Thank you all for joining us today. As of quarter end, we had 1.44 million paying clients, representing a 24% year-over-year growth. In the third quarter, we added 58,000 paying clients, a 5% sequential decline due to stock market tumble. Despite the market downturn, we achieved over 98% quarterly paying client retention rate for each of the five countries and regions for the first time. Our industry-leading retention metric speaks to the stickiness of our product and the resilience of our premier client base. In Singapore, new paying client growth accelerated by over 1/3 sequentially as we successfully launched targeted online and offline marketing campaigns around mutual funds and expanded client acquisition channels. We were able to attract many allocation-driven clients who gravitated towards lower-risk mutual funds amid market volatility.
In the U.S. market, client growth remained robust as we iterated on online marketing and deepened our collaboration with KOLs. The deceleration of client acquisition in Hong Kong was mainly due to sluggish equity market performance and, to a lesser extent, limited traction of our promotions around Silver Bond. Residents between the age of 35 and 55 will remain our priority in Hong Kong, as our current penetration is around 10%, offering significant room for further growth. Total client assets declined 13% year-over-year and 15% quarter-over-quarter to HKD 370 billion. While the challenging equity market weighed on client portfolio valuations, net asset inflow remained strong.
In Singapore, total client assets grew by 11% quarter-over-quarter due to higher quality new clients and strong asset inflows.
由 于 港 股 市 场 各 板 块 交 易 情 绪 持 续 低 迷 ， 港 股 交 易 量 为 HKD 304 billion， 环 比 下 降 28%。 本 季 度 一 些 客 户 进 场 抄 底 了 部 分 中 国 新 经 济 公 司 ， 带 动 两 融 余 额 环 比 增 长 2%。
Total trading volume declined 19% sequentially to HKD 1.1 trillion, of which U.S. stock trading constituted 69%. Lower turnover of technology names led to a 15% sequential decline in U.S. stock trading volume, partially offset by strong trading interest in leveraged and inverse ETFs. Hong Kong stock trading volume was HKD 304 billion, down 28% sequentially amid deteriorating market sentiments across all sectors. Margin financing and securities lending balance increased by 2% sequentially, driven by clients bottom fishing of Chinese new economy names.
财 富 管 理 客 户 总 资 产 为 二 百 六 十 亿 港 币 ， 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 四 十 七 ， 环 比 增 长 百 分 之 十 九 。 我 们 作 为 独 家 分 销 商 ， 上 线 了 新 加 坡 首 个 T 加 0 的 美 元 货 币 基 金 产 品 。 另 外 也 在 新 加 坡 推 出 了 货 币 基 金 自 动 申 赎 功 能 。 客 户 在 开 通 该 功 能 后 ， 系 统 会 根 据 客 户 交 易 账 户 里 的 闲 置 资 金 余 额 ， 自 动 进 行 货 币 基 金 的 申 购 和 赎 回 。 我 们 把 握 当 下 的 加 息 周 期 ， 特 意 丰 富 了 货 币 市 场 产 品 种 类 ， 并 提 升 了 产 品 功 能 ， 推 动 新 加 坡 财 富 管 理 总 资 产 实 现 环 比 四 倍 的 增 长 。 在 香 港 ， 我 们 新 上 线 了 一 支 锁 定 期 为 一 个 月 的 现 金 管 理 产 品 ， 该 产 品 面 向 专 业 投 资 者 ， 预 期 年 化 收 益 率 可 达 百 分 之 四 点 二 。 受 该 产 品 拉 动 ， 私 募 基 金 资 产 余 额 环 比 增 长 百 分 之 六 十 七 。 随 着 我 们 持 续 丰 富 和 完 善 基 金 产 品 种 类 ， 并 对 产 品 功 能 进 行 升 级 ， 截 止 本 季 度 末 ， 持 有 财 富 管 理 产 品 的 有 资 产 客 户 渗 透 率 从 二 季 度 末 的 百 分 之 十 五 提 升 至 百 分 之 十 七 。
Client assets and wealth management grew 47% year-over-year and 19% quarter-over-quarter to HKD 26 billion. In Singapore, we became the exclusive distributor of a newly launched USD-denominated money market fund with T+0 settlement, the first of its kind in Singapore. We also introduced SmartSave in Singapore, which gives our clients the option to automatically subscribe for and redeem money market funds based on the cash positions in their trading accounts. We were intentional about adding money market products and enhancing their functionality amid a rate hike environment, thereby growing our wealth management assets in Singapore by fivefold quarter-over-quarter. Client assets and private funds increased by 67% sequentially, mainly attributable to a new cash management product that offers 4.2% expected annualized return for professional investors with a one-month lockup.
As of quarter end, wealth management penetration among paying clients increased from 15% in the second quarter to 17%, as we continue to expand fund offerings and upgrade product features.
截 至 三 季 度 末 ， 我 们 有 三 百 零 一 家 IPO 分 销 和 投 资 者 关 系 客 户 ， 以 及 五 百 七 十 二 家 ESOP 客 户 ， 同 比 分 别 增 长 百 分 之 四 十 和 百 分 之 七 十 六 。 本 季 度 有 超 过 五 十 家 公 司 开 始 使 用 我 们 的 ESOP 服 务 ， 包 括 赣 锋 锂 业 和 微 创 脑 科 学 。 根 据 万 得 数 据 统 计 显 示 ， 在 今 年 的 前 三 个 季 度 ， 我 们 作 为 承 销 商 参 与 了 二 十 三 宗 香 港 IPO 项 目 ， 在 所 有 券 商 中 排 名 第 二 。
Our enterprise business have 301 IPO and IR clients, as well as 572 ESOP clients as of quarter end, up 40% and 76% year-over-year respectively. Over 50 companies adopted our ESOP services during the quarter, including Ganfeng Lithium and MicroPort. In the first three quarters of this year, we underwrote 23 Hong Kong IPOs and ranked second among all brokers, according to Wind.
接 下 来 有 请 我 们 的 Chief Financial Officer Arthur 介 绍 我 们 的 财 务 表 现 。
I'd like to invite our CFO, Arthur, to discuss our financial performance.
Thanks, Leaf and Daniel. Please allow me to walk you through our financial performance in the third quarter. All the numbers are in Hong Kong dollars unless otherwise noted. Our total revenue was HKD 1.9 billion, up 12% from HKD 1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Brokerage commission and handling charge income was HKD 958 million, an increase of 3% year-over-year and a decrease of 7% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year increase was mainly driven by a higher blended commission rate of 8.8 basis points, up from 6.9 basis points in the year-ago quarter. The Q-over-Q decrease was due to close to 20% sequential decline in trading volume, partially offset by the higher blended commission rate.
Interest income was HKD 881 million, an increase of 39% year-over-year, and 42% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to higher income from cash deposits, which more than offset lower margin financing income and IPO financing interest income. The Q-over-Q increase was mostly attributable to higher interest income from cash deposits and higher margin financing income. Other income was HKD 107 million, down 36% year-over-year, up 16% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to lower IPO financing service charge income, enterprise public relationship service charge income, and the currency exchange service income. The Q-over-Q increase was mainly due to some one-off income items.
Our total cost was HKD 218 million, a decrease of 18% from HKD 267 million in the third quarter of 2021. Brokerage commission and handling charge expenses were HKD 83 million, down 34% year-over-year and 5% Q-over-Q. The commission expenses didn't move in line with brokerage commission income due to the cost saving from our U.S. sales clearing migration and upgrade service package with our U.S. clearing house. The Q-over-Q decrease was mainly due to lower trading volume. Interest expenses were HKD 41 million, down 40% year-over-year and up 68% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year decrease was mostly due to lower expenses from interest, from margin financing and the security lending. The sequential uptick was driven by higher daily average margin financing balance and higher lender funding costs amid rate hikes.
Processing and servicing costs were HKD 91 million, up 35% year-over-year and down 3% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by higher product service fee to support our overseas market expansions. As a result, total gross profit was HKD 1.7 billion, an increase of 18% from HKD 1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Gross margin was 89%, expanded from 85% in the third quarter of 2021. Operating expenses were HKD 761 million, down 0.3% year-over-year, up 5% Q-over-Q. R&D expenses was HKD 313 million, up 40% year-over-year and 7% Q-over-Q. The increase was mainly due to increase in R&D headcounts as we continue to support new product offering, invest in U.S. self-clearing capabilities and a customized product experience for different new markets.
Selling and marketing expenses was HKD 235 million, down 42% year-over-year, up 7% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to slowing paying client growth. Expenses increased in Q-over-Q as client acquisition costs hiked due to weak market sentiment. G&A expenses was HKD 212 million, up 55% year-over-year and 1% Q-over-Q. The increase was primarily due to increase in headcount for general and administrative personnel. As a result, our net income increased by 23% year-over-year and 18% Q-over-Q to HKD 755 million. Net income margin expanded to 39% in the third quarter as compared to 36% in the same quarter last year.
Our effective tax rate for the quarter increased to 12.2% as the tax credit from our U.S. clearing has been fully utilized. That concludes our prepared remarks. We'd now like to open the calls to questions. Operator, please go ahead.
Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, you'll need to press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Once again, that's star one one to ask a question over the phone. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Thank you. We'll now take our first question. Please stand by. This is from the line of Cindy Wang from China Renaissance. Please go ahead.
Hi.
My first question is regarding to the interest income in third quarter. Since interest income show very strong growth in third quarter, could you give us a breakdown by margin financing income, bank deposit, and IPO financing interest income in third quarter? Since Fed rate hike was another 75 basis points in November and possibly to raise another 50 basis points in December, how do you see the contribution from bank deposit in fourth quarter?
The second question is regarding to the commission rate. In third quarter, the commission rate was up again to 8.86%. Could you give us the reasoning behind it, and how sustainable for the rate in fourth quarter? Thank you.
Thank you, Cindy. This is Arthur. I will take two of your questions. First about the interest income. I think the contribution from the IPO margin financing is relatively small. Most of our interest income now comes from the client's idle cash and also our margin business, which I think you are, you're right, we are one of the beneficiary from the rate hike cycle. Especially, you know, in the third quarter, we see the contribution from the, you know, client deposits becomes more meaningful. The bottom line, I think, you know, if on a like-for-like basis, it may contribute more interest income in the fourth quarter. Having said that, you can understand that, you know, our interest income actually comes from two perimeters.
One is the interest rate, i.e. the deposit rate we get from the bank. The other is the client's idle cash average balance, which may be related to the market volatilities. For instance, in the third quarter, the market becomes very challenging, and we can see the average cash balance among our clients become, you know, much higher, they lower down their stock positions. I'm not sure whether such, you know, the allocations versus clients as client stocks and the client's cash will remain in the fourth quarter or not. If I assume such ratio remain the same versus the third quarter, I think, you know, we will get more interest income in the fourth quarter. For your second question about the blended commission rate, that comes from several factors.
Number one, as Leaf mentioned, in the third quarter, our U.S. trading, you know, the contributions, roughly accounts for close to 70%, which, you know, has positive impacts on our blended commission rate. It is very difficult to forecast whether, you know, such dynamics will continue or not, given it is more driven by the market conditions. Secondly, you know, the trading volatility in the third quarter, you know, comes from more clients trading derivatives, such as options and the futures, et cetera. In the third quarter, among our trading commission, roughly 30%, came from clients' activities in the derivatives. It will enhance our blended commission rate as well. Thank you.
Thank you. Very clear.
Thank you. We'll now take our next question. Please stand by. This is from the line of Zoey Zong from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Thank you, management, for taking my question. This is Zoe from Jefferies. Congratulations on the solid results. I have two questions. First, we have already achieved our annual target of acquiring 200,000 new paying clients. Wondering, based on the current market conditions, could you please provide some color about our user acquisition in Q4 and next year? My second question is regarding our Singapore business, as we have seen strong growth in the number of new paying clients and the client assets. Wondering how many total paying clients do we have in Singapore as of Q3? What about the average assets per paying client? How do we think about the penetration rate and upside room? Thank you.
Thank you, Zoe. I will take your first question, and I will leave my your second question to my colleagues, Robin, regarding, you know, the situations in Singapore. For your first question, you are right, we are, you know, already approaching our full year guidance for 200,000 new paying clients acquired this year. Quarter to date, I think you can understand and everybody can imagine, the market condition was quite challenging across the U.S. and also the Asian markets as well. Based on the current quarter to date run rate, we think the new client acquired in the fourth quarter may be smaller or slower than the third quarter. We are very confident we will continue to acquire clients across the different markets.
Also, quarter to date, we still report decent net asset inflows across the different markets. It is too early to, you know, to give you some stance or the guidance for our next year's, you know, the new paying clients guidance. We will keep you posted in our fourth quarter earnings call. Thank you.
相 对 稳 健 的 一 个 投 资 心 态 。 那 我 们 做 了 有 针 对 性 的 推 广 货 币 基 金 等 低 风 险 的 财 富 管 理 产 品 。 在 整 个 的 加 息 周 期 下 ， 货 币 基 金 的 收 益 率 在 持 续 提 升 ， 对 新 加 坡 客 户 是 十 分 具 有 吸 引 力 的 ， 那 这 也 变 相 地 有 效 拉 动 了 我 们 新 客 户 的 一 个 增 长 。 那 另 外 就 是 我 们 也 在 同 步 地 去 不 断 地 去 完 善 我 们 整 个 的 开 户 和 出 入 金 的 这 个 体 验 ， 使 得 我 们 整 个 的 转 化 率 也 有 所 提 升 。 另 外 就 是 同 时 我 们 看 到 了 客 户 质 量 也 在 逐 步 地 提 高 。Q 三 新 增 客 户 的 首 月 户 均 入 金 就 已 经 超 过 了 九 千 新 币 。 那 今 年 一 月 获 客 的 客 户 ， 我 们 观 察 下 来 ， 通 常 是 需 要 三 个 月 左 右 才 能 达 到 这 样 的 一 个 户 均 ， 呃 ， 户 均 的 入 金 水 平 。 那 截 止 Q 三 末 ， 呃 ， 新 加 坡 户 均 资 产 是 超 过 了 一 万 新 币 ， 那 在 整 个 市 场 疲 软 的 背 景 下 依 然 实 现 了 环 比 增 长 ， 这 主 要 是 得 益 于 新 加 坡 客 户 的 一 个 持 续 的 良 好 的 入 金 的 一 个 情 况 。 谢 谢 。
In Singapore we have over 200,000 paying clients now, which we think is about 15% of market share, and we think there's a lot of room for further growth. In the third quarter, we recorded decent growth. It's mainly because we introduced a lower risk wealth management product, such as money market funds, to capture the conservative investment appetite of Singapore clients. In the rate hike environment, the yields of the money market funds kept rising and become rather attractive to Singapore clients and thus driving the growth of local new paying clients. We also continue to optimize the account opening and asset deposit process, thereby driving conversion from users to clients and also to paying clients. Meanwhile, we also saw improving client quality.
For the clients that we acquired in the third quarter, the average net asset inflow in the first month exceeded SGD 9,000, while the average net asset inflow of clients acquired in January this year will take about three months to reach this level. As of the end of the 3Q, the average assets of our Singapore clients was over SGD 10,000, recording a modest Q-on-Q growth. The increase in net asset inflow was able to more than offset the negative impact of the weak equity market. Thank you.
Thank you. That's very helpful.
Thank you. We'll now take our next question. Please stand by. This is from the line of You Fan from CICC. Please go ahead.
哎 ， 好 的 ， 非 常 感 谢 管 理 层 给 我 这 个 提 问 的 机 会 。 我 是 中 金 公 司 的 分 析 师 樊 悠 - 悠 悠 。 那 首 先 也 是 恭 喜 公 司 在 三 季 度 如 此 波 动 的 市 场 环 境 下 取 得 了 非 常 喜 人 的 业 绩 。 那 我 这 边 的 话 主 要 有 两 个 问 题 想 请 教 一 下 管 理 层 。 啊 首 先 的 话 ， 第 一 个 还 是 关 于 咱 们 这 个 用 户 这 边 具 体 的 一 个 breakdown， 包 括 像 看 咱 们 这 个 新 增 用 户 ， 还 有 包 括 这 个 存 量 用 户 来 看 的 话 ， 分 地 区 的 一 个 分 布 。 啊 然 后 第 二 个 问 题 的 话 是 关 于 咱 们 这 个 客 户 资 产 ， 啊 如 果 具 体 来 分 拆 看 咱 们 这 个 客 户 资 产 的 信 用 金 ， 还 有 包 括 咱 们 这 个 market to market loss 的 话 ， 大 概 分 别 的 一 个 水 平 是 怎 么 样 ？
Uh, okay, I will translate my question.
Thanks management for taking my question. This is Youyou Fan from CICC. First, congratulations on the exciting results achieved this quarter despite the volatile market environment. I have two questions here. The first one is about the client region breakdown. Would you please introduce more on the region breakdown of the newly added and also the existing paying clients? My second question is about the client asset breakdown. We see that the total client asset decreased by 15% quarter-over-quarter. Would you please give us the breakdown of the asset flow and the market-to-market loss?
Thank you, Youyou. My colleagues Robin will answer two of your questions. Thank you.
好 的 ， 感 谢 提 问 。 呃 ， 我 们 Q 三 净 增 的 有 资 产 客 户 中 可 以 看 到 是 美 国 和 亚 洲 地 区 是 差 不 多 是 各 占 一 半 ， 那 其 中 亚 洲 地 区 最 大 ， 呃 ， 新 增 最 多 的 是 新 加 坡 ， 其 次 是 香 港 。 那 么 另 外 我 们 看 回 ， 呃 ， 截 止 Q 三 末 的 一 个 存 量 数 据 ， 呃 ， 现 在 是 海 外 的 有 资 产 客 户 占 比 是 百 分 之 三 十 ， 那 当 然 这 海 外 是 不 包 括 香 港 啊 。 那 如 果 是 呃 ， 计 算 整 个 集 团 来 看 的 话 ， 那 最 多 的 目 前 是 香 港 ， 呃 ， 超 过 -- 接 近 百 分 之 四 十 ， 然 后 ， 呃 ， 现 在 是 新 加 坡 和 美 国 都 还 不 到 百 分 之 二 十 ， 大 概 是 一 个 这 样 的 情 况 。 然 后 另 外 一 个 问 题 是 关 于 ， 呃 ， 资 产 ， 客 户 资 产 的 一 个 跟 市 场 波 动 的 一 个 影 响 。 那 么 我 这 边 的 观 点 是 ， 市 场 波 动 和 客 户 的 净 入 金 实 际 上 是 影 响 到 我 们 客 户 资 产 规 模 最 主 要 的 因 素 。 那 Q 三 来 看 ， 各 个 市 场 的 客 户 净 入 金 状 况 都 是 比 较 好 的 ， 总 入 金 -- 总 的 净 入 金 和 2Q-Q 二 是 持 平 的 ， 呃 ， 但 是 在 美 股 和 港 股 市 场 的 持 续 下 行 之 下 ， 还 是 降 低 了 客 户 的 总 资 产 ， 也 就 是 说 ， 呃 ， 市 场 方 面 的 影 响 会 大 过 入 金 方 面 对 我 们 的 一 个 有 利 的 一 个 影 响 。 谢 谢 。
First of all to your question on the breakdown of our paying clients. Among the new additions in the third quarter, Asia contributed about half of that, among which Singapore was the main contributor, followed by Hong Kong, and the U.S. contributed roughly the other half. As of the end of the third quarter, the overseas paying clients was around 30%, and which Singapore outnumber the U.S. by a small margin. In total, Hong Kong contributed close to 40%.
Overall, Singapore and U.S. each contributed less than 20% of our overall paying client base. To your question on client assets. So market fluctuations and clients net asset inflow were the most important factors affecting our total clients assets. In the third quarter, the net asset inflow in clients in all markets were quite robust, and the total amount remained flat compared with the second quarter. However, the declining Hong Kong and U.S. stock markets dragged down the total client assets. Thank you.
好 的 ， 谢 谢 管 理 层 。Thanks for the answering.
Thank you. We'll now take the next question. Please stand by. This is from Leon Qi from Daiwa. Please go ahead.
好 的, 我 是 Daiwa Securities 的 黎漾棋, 非 常 感 谢 管 理 层 给 我 这 个 提 问 的 机 会. 我 有 2 个 问 题 想 请 教, 第 1 个 是 关 于 Singapore, 第 2 个 是 关 于 Hong Kong 的. 在 Singapore 这 边 呢, 刚 才 也 听 到 管 理 层 已 经 讲 了, 我 们 这 个 新 客 非 常 强 的 在 Q3 的 增 长. 我 想 关 心 一 下 我 们 的 这 个 产 品 工 具 箱, 因 为 管 理 层 也 讲 到 我 们 Q3 像 money market fund, 大 理 财 这 样 的 产 品 其 实 吸 引 了 很 多 Singapore 相 对 来 讲 风 险 偏 好 比 较 低 的 客 户. 接 下 去 我 们 的 这 个 产 品 工 具 箱 里 面, 可 能 还 有 一 些 什 么 样 的 产 品 可 以 使 我 们 整 个 产 品 的 这 个 生 态 体 系 更 加 丰 富 一 些. 我 们 接 下 去 是 说 把 现 有 的 产 品 更 加 去 做 深, 来 给 客 户 出 入 金 这 些 体 验 更 好, 还 是 说 有 一 些 新 的 这 个 asset class 或 者 subclass, 甚 至 于 说 像 crypto 这 一 些, 我 们 会 有 考 虑. 这 个 是 关 于 Singapore 我 们 的 这 个 product ecosystem. 第 2 个 问 题 呢, 关 于 Hong Kong. 其 实 Hong Kong 呢, 相 对 来 讲 就 是 AUM 这 个 upside 还 很 大, 我 理 解. 其 实 我 想 请 教 的 是 关 于 我 们 这 个 客 户 增 长, 就 管 理 层 觉 得 是 不 是 在 Hong Kong, 我 们 未 来 这 个 potential, 主 要 是 AUM growth, 而 客 户 增 长 相 对 来 讲 已 经 到 了 一 个 比 较 饱 和 的 程 度. 不 知 道 管 理 层 怎 么 看 这 些 问 题, 我 们 未 来 Hong Kong 是 说 去 增 加, 去 挖 客 户 的 深 度, 还 是 说 去 增 加 新 的 客 户. 就 这 2 个 问 题. 我 翻 译 一 下. Uh, this is Leon Qi from Daiwa Securities.
Thanks a lot for management for taking my questions. I have two questions today, one on Singapore and the other on Hong Kong. Singapore, I just want to know that what management is thinking about in terms of your future product pipeline. Understand you have been launching money market funds and the wealth management products in order to expand your product ecosystem, especially now equity related ones. What else are in our product ecosystem toolbox? Are we considering any new asset classes or subclasses or for example, crypto? Wondering how management think about these new asset classes.
Second question is on Hong Kong. Understand there is still substantial upside in terms of per customer AUM in Hong Kong. Appreciate if management can give any color on your user upside in Hong Kong. Do you think Hong Kong is already quite penetrating in terms of our current position? How do you see our future growth from Hong Kong? Is it more from new users or from per user AUM? Thanks a lot.
Thanks a lot, Leon. My colleague Robin will answer your first question about Singapore. Our founder Mr. Leaf Li will answer your second question about Hong Kong. Thank you.
感 谢 提 问。 我 们 在 新 加 坡 这 边 实 际 上 是 从 去 年 我 们 进 入 到 新 加 坡 市 场 以 来 ， 一 直 在 持 续 建 设 我 们 在 整 个 产 品 和 我们 所 提 供 的 交 易 品 类 ， 这 是 在 持 续 地 去 构 建 我 们 的 竞 争 力。 接 下 来 我 们 会 重 点 会 在 几 个 方 面 吧 ， 我 觉 得 是 ， 一 个 是 ， 我 们 现 在 还 没 有 支 持 港 股 期 权 的 交 易 ， 然 后 会 在 接 下 来 不 远 的 时 间 会 面 向 新 加 坡 客 户 提 供 港 股 期 权 的 交 易 ， 当 然 也 包 括 美 股 的 组 合 期 权 以 及 杠 杆 式 外 汇 和 债 券 的 这 个 买 卖 ， 这 都 是 我 们 接 下 来 的 一 个 重 点 工 作。 另 外 我 们 已 经 拿 到 了 Singapore Exchange 的 资 金 算 资 智 ， 所 以 我 们 未 来 也 会 在 资 金 算 这 方 面 会 去 持 续 投 入 ， 这 个 完 成 支 持 类 似 于 CDP 账 户 的 这 种 客 户 的 资 产 的 迁 移。 另 外 还 有 什 么 ？ 另 外 -
呃 。
对 对 对 ， 差 不 多 是 这 样 的 一 个 品 类 。 另 外 就 是 ， 呃 ， 我 们 也 会 在 我 们 ， 呃 ， 机 构 业 务 方 面 会 有 一 定 的 投 入 ， 就 是 在 整 个 的 账 户 能 力 上 。 对 ， 差 不 多 是 这 样 。 感 谢 提 问 。
Right. Since last year, we have continued to enhance our product functionality in Singapore. Going forward, we have a couple of new products that we want to roll out to the retail clients, including the Hong Kong options trading and select U.S. options trading as well. We also plan to launch leverage forex trading in Singapore, and also bond trading. We've also acquire the self-clearing license in Singapore. Going forward, we'll build our self-clearing capability and allow our clients to transfer their assets to CDP accounts. Last but not least, I think we are also investing into our enterprise services, mostly geared towards a lot of family offices in Singapore. Thank you.
好 的 ， 我 来 回 答 一 下 那 个 第 二 个 问 题 。 就 截 - 截 止 根 据 我 们 的 最 新 数 据 啊 ， 就 富 途 在 香 港 零 售 投 资 者 的 渗 透 率 大 约 是 百 分 之 二 十 ， 那 么 其 中 在 三 十 五 到 五 十 五 岁 的 香 港 中 年 人 群 体 当 中 ， 目 前 是 有 百 分 之 十 左 右 是 富 途 的 有 资 产 客 户 。 所 以 未 来 我 们 ， 呃 ， 会 持 续 向 目 前 渗 透 率 还 比 较 低 的 这 一 部 分 的把 客 户 群 体 去 做 重 点 的 渗 透 。 那 么 长 期 来 看 的 话 呢 ， 就 是 我 们 也 会 更 加 关 注 资 产 维 度 的 指 标 ， 比 如 说 那 个 客 户 的 进 入 金 。 那 么 未 来 我 们 也 会 ， 呃 ， 通 过 产 品 品 类 的 扩 充 和 客 户 的 持 续 运 营 ， 去 增 加 对 客 户 钱 包 份 额 的 渗 透 ， 去 吸 引 客 户 将 更 多 的 资 产 托 管 在 ， 呃 ， 富 途 的 平 台 上 面 。 谢 谢 。
Lately, Futu's penetration rate of our Hong Kong retail investors is around 20%. We think nearly 10% of the middle aged 35-55-year-old Hong Kong residents. Our penetration among that population is around 10%. I will continue to focus on further penetrating these client cohorts. In the long run, we will also pay more attention to asset related matrices, such as clients net asset inflows. We intend to continue to increase the wallet share of our clients through expansion of our product offerings and also increase in client engagement. Thank you.
Oh, very helpful. Thanks a lot. 非 常 感 谢 管 理 层 的 解 答.
Thank you. We'll now take our next question. Please stand by. This is from the line of Frank Zheng from Credit Suisse. Please go ahead.
感谢管理层给我提问的机会。我有 two 个问题。第一个是关于新市场进入的，可不可以透露一下我们目前对于这个新的市场进入的这个进程如何？明年 2023 年我们有没有一些具体的计划？第二个问题是关于获客成本的。我们注意到 Q3 的获客成本大约是 HKD 4,000。往后看的话，Q4 包括明年，我们应该怎么看这个趋势？另外，之前公司也提过一个 metric，就是以 net asset inflow 作为分母，这个的这个成本应该是在 1 到 1.5 percentage points 左右。目前来看，我们这个数字是不是比较 consistent？我来翻译一下。First question is on new market entries, what is our current progress in terms of exploring new markets and any tangible plans in 2023?
Second question is on client acquisition expense. We note that in the third quarter CAC is around HKD 4,000 . How shall we think about CAC going forward? Company mentioned 1%-1.5% expense ratio based on net asset inflow. Are we on track in terms of this metric? 非 常 感 谢.
Thank you, Frank. I will take your second question first, our founder, Mr. Leaf Li, will answer your first question about new market expansion. For the CAC, I can understand everybody maybe are slightly disappointed about, you know, our third quarter results. I think there are some, you know, reasons behind that. Number one is definitely the market conditions in the third quarter is quite very challenging. Secondly, we actually continue to make some brand equity efforts in Hong Kong and in Singapore, despite some of our peers start to set back their marketing campaigns. We do think, you know, brand equity building up is a very long-term process, we need some patience in the market volatility conditions.
The third way, as Leaf mentioned in opening remarks, we try to do some new initiatives, such as Silver Bond, you know, promotions in Hong Kong, which unfortunately didn't pay out very well, which, you know, increased our CAC in the third quarter. Down the road, I think, you know, fourth quarter maybe continue very challenging, given the quarter-to-date market conditions. You know, on our CAC levels in the fourth quarter, it may continue to be, on a relatively high levels. For the asset acquisition costs, I think you are right, we are, we are still well on track, in the range of 1%-1.5% year-to-date. Thank you very much.
好 的 。 关 于 第 一 个 问 题 ， 呃 ， 就 是 我 们 预 计 在 明 年 上 半 年 就 是 会 ， 会 继 续 进 入 新 的 国 际 市 场 ， 就 是 其 实 我 们 ， 呃 ， 也 都 在 动 态 研 究 一 些 国 际 市 场 的 机 会 ， 就 是 不 排 除 会 以 一 部 分 这 种 产 品 功 能 的 形 式 在 新 市 场 去 上 线 ， 去 进 行 这 种 验 证 式 的 学 习 ， 去 ， 去 收 集 当 地 市 场 的 一 些 反 馈 ， 就 是 通 过 这 种 方 式 来 不 断 地 ， 呃 ， 优 化 和 更 新 产 品 ， 来 适 应 ， 呃 ， 当 地 客 户 的 需 求 。 嗯 ， 谢 谢 。
We expect to enter into new overseas markets from the first half of next year. We are also dynamically exploring the opportunities in some overseas markets. We may also consider launching certain select product features in a new market first for validation purposes and collect the feedback from the market so as to constantly optimize and upgrade the products to meet the needs of the local clients. Thank you.
好 的 ， 非 常 感 谢 。Many thanks.
Thank you. We'll now take our next question. Please stand by. This is from the line of Emma Xu from Bank of America. Please go ahead.
嗯 ， 谢 谢 给 我 这 个 提 问 的 机 会 ， 然 后 恭 喜 公 司 在 三 季 度 取 得 了 非 常 强 劲 的 业 绩 。 呃 ， 我 这 个 问 题 是 关 于 美 国 市 场 的 。 刚 刚 管 理 层 也 提 到 了 ， 就 是 说 美 国 贡 献 了 三 季 度 大 概 百 分 之 五 十 的 新 增 客 户 ， 那 也 是 我 们 一 个 非 常 重 要 的 增 量 市 场 ， 呃 ， 可 不 可 以 谈 一 谈 ， 就 是 说 我 们 未 来 在 这 个 市 场 的 一 个 增 长 的 规 划 ， 呃 ， 以 及 目 前 在 这 个 市 场 上 客 户 的 特 征 ， 包 括 这 个 ， 呃 ， 户 均 资 产 ， 呃 ， 以 及 我 们 在 那 边 的 获 客 成 本 是 怎 么 样 ， 以 及 客 户 的 这 个 回 收 周 期 是 怎 么 样 ？
My question is about your U.S. market. As management just mentioned that U.S. market contributed to around 30% of new client in third quarter. This will be a very important new market for your company. Could you tell us what your plan for this market in the medium to longer term? Could you tell us what your client characteristics in this market, for example, the average client asset, the client acquisition cost for U.S. clients as well as payback period?
Okay. Our founder, Leaf will answer this question. Thank you.
We continue to iterate on client incentives and across various channels in the U.S. and our continued marketing and our co-operations with KOL helped improve our brand awareness in the U.S. market. And despite the acceleration of client acquisition, average assets per paying client has decreased as market downturn offset strong net asset inflows of our clients. And looking into the fourth quarter and as result of the upcoming holiday season, we expect the sentiment to affect some U.S. clients’ willingness to open accounts and transfer funds, causing client acquisition to slow down in the U.S. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on improving the client quality and the efficiency of client acquisition.
And in terms of client acquisition costs, right now, the CAC in the U.S. is lower than the overall group’s client acquisition cost. However, the payback period will be much longer. I think we are still patient on our monetization in the U.S. as we plan to rollout a number of new product features in the coming quarters that we think can meaningfully improve monetization. Thank you.
Thank you. We’ll now take our next question. Please stand by. This is from the line of Peter Zhang from JPMorgan. Please go ahead.
Okay. Let me do the translation. This is Peter Zhang from JPMorgan. Congratulations on the strong results. My first question is about the market share in Hong Kong. We noticed that the Futu’s trading volume in Hong Kong declined by 28% quarter-over-quarter while Hong Kong, the total trading volume in Hong Kong market declined by 18%. So, we wish to understand what’s the reason behind. My second question is on the IT spending. Management gave guidance of 20% headcount increase in 2022. I wish to check what’s the progress on this initiative and what will be the R&D expense trend going forward?
Thank you. I will take both of the questions. I think number one, the comparison is our trading volumes, you know, change patterns versus the overall markets. The reason behind, in my humble view, is that the overall markets, including retail investors and also institutional investors, when the market becomes extremely volatile and extremely challenging, normally, you know, institutional investors trade more, you know, tactically and responsively versus retail investors. Given, you know, certain rebalancing, retail investors may continue to hold their positions, unlike institutional investors, will, you know, become more nimble and react to the market volatility. This is the question number one.
For question number two, I think, you know, year- to- date, we are on track in terms of the net new head count increase, you know, in this year. Particularly, I think, you know, in terms of delta, the overall, you know, head count increase has already peaked in terms of speed versus, you know, the past two years. Down the line, I think, you know, we are still, you know, do the internal evaluations about next year's budgets in terms of our head count. I do think, you know, the increase of the head count, especially in the R&D side, next year will be, you know, quite stable or, you know, the speed may be smaller, even smaller than this year. Thank you.
Okay. That's very clear. Thank you.
Thank you. This concludes the question and answer session. I would now like to hand back to Daniel for closing remarks.
That concludes our call today. On behalf of the Futu management team, I would like to thank you for joining us tonight. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our investor relations representatives. Thank you and goodbye.
Thank you. This does conclude the conference for today. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.