Newsletter No. 494

08 # 4 9 4 | 1 9 . 0 3 . 2 0 1 7 現實生活中，虛擬活動無處不在。但物極必反， 賞味實物近年似有復甦趨勢，且不只是部分年 長的人的懷舊嗜好，而是年青族群都樂此不疲 的事。 首先回歸的是筆記本。這裏指的不是各種 屏幕尺寸、記憶體容量齊備的筆記本電腦， 而是供人抄寫的紙本筆記。城市一族或 是潮流分子，每多人手一本Moleskine或 Rhodia。前一個品牌的專門店更是在高 檔商場愈開愈多。 閱讀也不再純是虛 擬作業。電子書的 銷量已經見頂，同 時主流報刊如《紐 約時報》及《經濟學人》的讀者及訂戶人數均見顯著上升，新讀者或訂户很多都是年輕人。 The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter 的作者David Sax認為，人們 追求手執一書的樂趣，是由於厭倦了在網上閱讀，資訊沒完沒了，點擊之後又是點擊，永遠 沒有終卷的一刻。他在書中也指出近年黑膠唱片銷量回升，各類棋盤遊戲也如雨後春筍般 蓬勃，人們預期這兩項玩意會因iTunes和網遊而式微，但事實卻不是如此。 另一個復古的現象是書信。在電郵還未統治我們私人及職場世界的年頭，我們寫信寄信， 也耐心等待回信。書信的黃金時代的確是一去不復返了，但一些網上平台如Letters of Note和The Letters Page，起初只是真跡信件的檔案庫，或是書信愛好者的部落格，但後 來見到書信的實體有市場，於是紛紛把書信結集成書。Letters of Note的書信集已經出到 第二冊，而The Letters Page剛剛印行的限量本，信件的原味複製品裝在精美框盒中，加上 倣傚以前空郵信封邊沿圖案設計的絲帶，頗適合收藏把玩。 未來我們還會見到共處一室的親人，或餐桌上的情侶繼續互傳短訊，但當擁有智能手機如 擁有八達通卡一般的平民味道時，如果能實實在在地把一些東西捧在手裏，用來做點實事 出來，那末也不失為有品味、隱隱然提升身分的象徵。 There appears to be a respite from the tyranny of virtual reality in that objects, not their digitized avatars, are being sought by people. And not just people but young people. First, the notebook is back. By notebook I mean the sheets of paper, lined, ring-bound or otherwise, for one to scribble in, not the laptop device that comes in different screen sizes and capacities. Among the urban and the savvy, it’s become trendy to possess and display a Moleskine or a Rhodia as a personal effect. The former brand has its own stores opened in high-end malls everywhere. Reading materials get real again, too. E-book sales have plateaued but major newspapers and magazines like The New York Times and The Economist are seeing hikes in sales and in print subscriptions (and from young people, too). David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter , attributes the comeback of the-paper-in-hand to the frustration of a web reader of never seeming to come to the last page or be able to put down the book. There is always further but not necessarily better information one click away. He also refers to the booming sales of vinyl records and the resurgence of board games, two pastimes that were once thought to be pushed to the verge of extinction with the emergence of iTunes and computer games, respectively. Another relic from a previous era that is given a new lease of life is the letter. Yes, the letter we used to write, stamp and post, then expect to receive a reply, if prompt, in a matter of days or weeks before we are enslaved by e-mails. Online platforms such as ‘Letters of Note’ and ‘The Letters Page’, which started out as archives of real letters or blogs by epistolary aficionados, saw the appeal of the letter as artefact and began putting their collections in the market in print form. ‘Letters of Note’ has already published two volumes of their collection, while the limited edition published by ‘The Letters Page’ comes in a boxed set containing loose-leaf reproduction of the original letters tied with strings that resemble the border strip of an airmail envelope. Make no mistake. Family under the same roof and couples at the same restaurant tables would still text each other. But when carrying a smart phone is only as smart as carrying an Octopus card, getting one's hand on something tangible and concrete and actually doing something with it is an acquired taste and a badge of distinction T.C. 字 裏 科 技 / T ech T alks 在線不再是時興 Cool to be Off-line Investment decisions are based on many factors. While many may believe that choosing an instrument with a lower rate of management fee is a smart decision, this is not necessarily the case. Let’s look at the four China A50 exchange traded funds (‘ETFs’) listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange tabled above. Note that the first three ETFs (2823.HK , 2822.HK and 2832.HK ) are all charging 0.99% p.a. on the asset-under-management, while the last one, the latest ETF from Amundi (2843.HK ), charges only 0.48% p.a. However, even if this ETF mimics the same underlying index— FTSE China A50 Index—as the others, its lower management fee has not attracted too many investors, as is evidenced from its average daily trading volume and average daily turnover. Investors would rather look at other factors such as the size of the fund (asset-under- management) and the liquidity (trading volume and trading turnover). Larger sizes and greater liquidities mean that there are more commodities and transactions in the market so that the theory of big numbers applies to produce a reasonably fair price at which investors can comfortably do business. To be able to buy or sell at this market-derived ‘fair price’ means much more than a few percentage points off the management fee to the investors. On the other hand, iShares FTSE A50 China Index ETF and CSOP FTSE China A50 EFT (2823.HK and 2822.HK) are very popular. Indeed, they are two of the five most highly traded ETFs in the Hong Kong market. These five ETFs (including Tracker Fund of Hong Kong) represent 95% of the total trading volume of over 170 ETFs in Hong Kong. The average trading volumes and average daily turnovers of 2823.HK and 2822.HK far overdid their neighbours in the table. Therefore, investors in them can be more assured that the buying or selling prices are not too far from the fair market prices and so are willing to pay higher management fees for such liquidity privileges. The A50 China Tracker Fund of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Staff Superannuation Scheme (1995), currently of a size of HKD170 million, is currently invested solely in CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF (2822.HK ). The fund size and the liquidity of the latter (2822.HK) have enabled members of the University’s staff superannuation scheme to enjoy reasonable benefits and privileges. Stock Code 2823.HK 2822.HK 2832.HK 2843.HK Name iShares FTSE A50 China Index ETF CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF Bosera FTSE China A50 Index ETF Amundi FTSE China A50 Index ETF Fund size HKD28.4 b (31.1.2017) RMB18.5 b (28.2.2017) ~HKD17.8 m (31.1.2017) RMB259 m (31.1.2017) Management fee as a percentage of asset-under- management 0.99% p.a. 0.99% p.a. 0.99% p.a. 0.48% p.a. Average daily trading volume from 11.2016 to 2.2017 36.2 m units 40.2 m units 0.001 m units 0.09 m units Average daily turnover from 11.2016 to 2.2017 HKD404.5 m HKD467.3 m HKD0.007 m HKD1.08 m 投資的決定視乎很多因素。有人以低管理費選擇投資工具，但這未必是一個聰明的選擇。 讓我們看看表內四個在港交所掛牌的中國A50交易所買賣基金（ETF）的一些基本數據。 頭三個ETF（港幣櫃台股份代號分別是2823、2822和2832）所收取的管理費均是管理資產 值每年的0.99%；而最後一個—東方匯理比較近期推出的2843—則比之少半（0.48%）。 就算這個基金組合跟隨的指數—FTSE中國A50指數—跟其他四個一樣，它較低的管理 費也似乎吸引不到很多投資者，這點可從它的日均交易量和日均成交額見到。 投資者關注的其他因素還有基金的規模(管理的資產總值)以及流動性（交易量和成交 額）。規模大、流動性高，意味着市場上可找到更多商品和出現更頻密的交易，令到成交價 格更接近「合理」價位。投資者關切的，是可以以市場機制下達到的「合理」價位來進行買 賣，而往往不是管理費的幾個百分點。 另一方面，iShares FTSE A50 China Index ETF 和CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF（港幣櫃 台股份代號分別是2823和2822）則頗受投資者歡迎。事實上，香港有170多個ETF，2823 和2822以及其他三個（包括香港盈富基金）是其中交易量最高的，佔了整體交易量的 95%。在表中，這兩個基金的日均交易量和日均成交額也比其他兩個高出很多。投資在它們 身上，可以放心買賣價不會偏離市場的合理價位太多，享有這種流動彈性，管理費多一點也 不在意了。 香港中文大學教職員公積金計劃（1995）的A50中國盈富基金，刻下總資產值為港幣一億 七千萬元，現在只投資在CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF（2822），這個基金的資產規模和流 動性，給予大學公積金計劃的成員一定的保證。 財 金 淺 趣 / F inancially F riendly 管理費與人氣 Is Management Fee Relevant to the Popularity of an ETF?