United States-based investment firm Artisan Partners, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced on June 8, 2025, that it will liquidate its China-focused investment portfolio by the end of the month. The decision comes amid growing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, along with a challenging market backdrop. Artisan’s China post-venture strategy fund—valued at $113 million as of April—focused on small and mid-cap Chinese firms. Although the portfolio is being wound down, the company confirmed its Hong Kong office will remain operational. The move reflects a broader retreat by Western firms from China, with increasing U.S. restrictions on investing in sensitive Chinese tech sectors.
U.S.-based global investment management firm Artisan Partners, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has announced that it will wind down its China-focused investment portfolio by the end of June 2025. The move underscores rising investor concern over deepening geopolitical rifts between the United States and China, alongside increasingly volatile economic conditions in the region.
According to a company spokesperson, “This decision comes amid an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment and a persistently challenging economic and market backdrop, which have put significant pressure on flows across dedicated China strategies.”
The firm’s China post-venture strategy, which focused on small- and mid-cap public and private companies in China, had $113 million in assets under management as of April 2025. Artisan began winding down the portfolio earlier this year and posted a net loss of 10.4% since its inception in March 2021.
Despite the liquidation, Artisan Partners confirmed that its Hong Kong office will remain operational, retaining its investment and trading teams. However, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Hong Kong-based team handling the Greater China strategy is being disbanded.
Artisan’s exit reflects a broader shift in sentiment among Western asset managers, who are increasingly wary of Chinese investments due to growing U.S. scrutiny of capital flows into China, especially in sensitive sectors like semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing. The U.S. government has also restricted investments in companies on its sanctions list, including Chinese battery giant CATL, which faced barriers in its recent $4.6 billion Hong Kong IPO.
Portfolio manager Tiffany Hsiao commented in April via a client letter on the Artisan Partners website, “The largest risks for investing in China will continue to be geopolitics and domestic policy overshoots.”
Founded in 1994, Artisan Partners manages a diverse range of global investment strategies across various asset classes. The firm also operates offices in London, Dublin, Singapore, and Sydney, in addition to its U.S. and Hong Kong locations.
The move adds to a growing list of international firms downsizing or leaving China and Hong Kong. For instance, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Canada’s third-largest pension fund, announced the closure of its Hong Kong office in March 2025.
As the U.S.–China investment environment grows increasingly fraught, Artisan Partners’ retreat may signal a continued pullback by global capital from Chinese markets.
