20 Years of Dedication and Partnership Through Challenges
The Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association (formerly known as the "Hong Kong Securities & Futures Industry Union") was established on January 22, 2002, and this year marks its 20th anniversary. Although the Association had only over a hundred members at the beginning, it has now grown to more than 5,400 members.
Looking back, the Association was formed by a group of industry practitioners striving to survive and fight for the preservation of the minimum commission system. They united to resist long-standing oppression. Due to the unity of its members, industry support, and the Association's use of protests and demonstrations as a negotiation tool, the government at the time agreed to delay the implementation of the abolition of the minimum commission system by a year for further discussion. This victory laid the foundation for the Association's long-term development.
In its early days, the Association mainly consisted of grassroots practitioners in the industry, most of whom were white-collar licensed professionals. Due to its fearless stance against authority and its outspoken approach, combined with its patriotic, fair, just, and pragmatic attitude, the Association quickly gained industry support and recognition. This prompted the government and relevant authorities to take the Association seriously. Today, the Association's members include employees from various roles and levels in the industry, such as directors, Responsible Officers (ROs), compliance, risk control, client service, analysts, trading room staff, back-office support staff, IT professionals, and more. Essentially, any employee working in a role related to the Securities & Futures industry in Hong Kong can join the Association.
In addition, the idea of forming a union was sparked by a chance incident in 2001. At that time, to comply with the Securities & Futures Commission’s (SFC) continuous professional training requirements, I, along with a group of industry practitioners, attended a course. The instructor, who was not from the industry, said something strange towards the end of the course, which left my friends and me confused and disheartened. The instructor said, "No matter how hard you work, it’s useless. You’re all going to be eliminated. There’s no point in spending time and money on CPT. You’d be better off switching careers sooner." We were puzzled and asked, "Why?" The instructor replied, "Don't you know? It's government policy that’s driving you out. Once the minimum commission system is abolished, banks will easily steal your clients, and you simply won’t have the resources or capacity to compete with them. Your industry isn’t united, no one is fighting for your cause, and no one is standing up for you. You're doomed."
Determined, a few of us decided to form a union to organize and unite the practitioners, with the hope of fighting for the industry, for the practitioners, for the preservation of the minimum commission system, and against the encroachment of banks on the securities industry, as well as for the survival of local small and medium-sized securities firms and their employees. Thus, the Association was born.
After that day, we decided to lobby and contact industry friends, hoping that more people would come forward to fight for the rights of the industry. Although the process was challenging, after much effort, we finally caught the attention of some practitioners and company owners, and some began to resonate with our views. As more like-minded people joined, we established the "Hong Kong Securities Practitioners Concern Group" and held our first press conference on November 13, 2001, at the Chiu Chow Garden Restaurant. We subsequently wrote to the relevant government departments, requesting them to delay the abolition of the minimum commission system, and met with the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury at the time, marking the first step in establishing our Association.
It is not easy for a group of practitioners with no experience in forming a union to establish one. We encountered many difficulties and sought advice from other organizations and experienced individuals. Eventually, the Concern Group realized that without the support and guidance of other unions, we would only waste time and effort. Therefore, on November 24, 2001, we held a meeting with the Hong Kong Clerical and Professional Employees General Union under the Federation of Trade Unions and obtained their guidance and assistance. We then established the "Preparatory Committee of the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Industry Union," began recruiting members under the committee's name, and proposed becoming an affiliated member of the Federation of Trade Unions, though we would maintain absolute autonomy.
On December 14, 2001, the Preparatory Committee held its third meeting and received assistance from Mr. Tam Yiu-chung, a then-Legislative Council member, to submit a letter of opinion from the industry to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, opposing the abolition of the minimum commission system. Simultaneously, the committee conducted an industry survey to gauge support for a protest march. In a short period, the committee held several small group meetings, but since the relevant government departments continuously ignored the industry's demands, the committee ultimately decided to call on industry members to gather on January 24, 2002, at 5 p.m. at Chater Garden in Central and march to the Government Headquarters in protest.
As far as I recall, it was close to the Chief Executive election period at the time, and the government, not wanting to stir public discontent, held several meetings with the committee, urging us to cancel the march. However, the committee stood firm, and the government finally reached an agreement with the committee on the evening of the 23rd, announcing on the morning of the 24th that the plan to abolish the minimum commission system would be postponed for a year. As a result, the committee immediately canceled the march. Due to the tight schedule, we were unable to inform all industry members that the protest had been called off, so the committee stayed at Chater Garden and held a discussion with the industry members. The implementation of the minimum commission system was delayed for a year due to the union's persistent efforts.
January 22, 2002, marked the official registration of the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Union. The Preparatory Committee scheduled the first General Assembly for March 13, 2002, where the first Council was elected through a secret ballot. At that time, the Council consisted of 18 members, and the official membership was only 160. Today, the membership has grown to more than 5,400 members.
In August 2004, the Association held a "Legislative Council Financial Services Sector Election Forum" at Chater Garden in Central, inviting the five candidates at the time to participate. Through intense debates, the industry gained a clearer understanding of the candidates' platforms and future work objectives.
On New Year’s Day 2005, in response to the failed IPO of The Link, the "Alliance to Defend Hong Kong's Stability" was launched. It targeted unscrupulous politicians who, for their personal political purposes, disrupted the financial market, causing immeasurable losses to Hong Kong. Their actions were disgraceful.
On February 27, 2012, the Association organized a large-scale industry protest against the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's implementation of the second phase of extended trading hours. I personally initiated a 24-hour hunger strike during this time.
In 2019, we participated in the anti-violence patriotic march.
Our association has now been established for 20 years, weathering many storms along the way. Our work can be summarized as follows:
- Under the fundamental premise of patriotism and love for Hong Kong, we strive to protect the livelihoods of practitioners;
- We demand that the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) adjust unreasonable and overly harsh regulations;
- We call on the government to abolish the unfair "dual regulatory" system;
- We propose reforms to balance the interests of the industry and investors;
- In February 2007, our Association was approved by the SFC’s Academic and Accreditation Advisory Committee as a recognized institution for providing continuous professional training (CPT). To date, we have held 212 CPT sessions, benefiting countless practitioners.
Looking to the future, I emphasize that from the very first day of the Association’s establishment to the present, the market has changed significantly. In the past, brokers played a dominant role, but now, without a structured commission system, the brokerage profession has become increasingly difficult. Many brokers have transitioned to salaried employees, taking roles in management, customer service, risk control, etc., leaving brokers with little to no profitability.
Before I retire, I hope we can adopt measures similar to Mainland China’s Anti-Monopoly Law and Anti-Dumping Law. The current situation is out of control. Zero commission—how are securities brokers supposed to continue? It’s leading to widespread collapse. The situation is that either companies grow too big to fail, or small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have no room to survive. The disparity between cost and efficiency is widening, and the wealth gap is growing ever larger. The government must consider introducing anti-monopoly and anti-dumping laws, much like the measures Mainland China has taken to suppress e-commerce giants.
Development should still be pursued, but there must be a balance in wealth distribution. If things continue this way, there will be no room for SMEs to survive, and they will all eventually collapse. Large enterprises were once small businesses that grew over time, but now, the bigger they get, the more they dominate, leaving no space for smaller businesses to survive. This is a sad reality, and society’s development is fundamentally imbalanced.
Let’s not speak of a free market and free pricing without standards and guidelines. This is absurd and increasingly excessive. While some may prosper, others are ignored. The government has a duty to care for everyone, just like Mainland China’s poverty alleviation efforts, to ensure that everyone thrives. If one entity takes over everything, the rest will die off, SMEs will close, and unemployment will rise. From a union’s perspective, the foundation is in grassroots workers, and this so-called free economy and free pricing violate the principles of our Association.
After retirement, my hope is for a market with balanced development, where every sector has its share and no one is left out. The current market development is fundamentally distorted. Even in a free market, there must be a baseline, right? Take taxi fares, for example. Should we abolish all pricing standards and let everyone negotiate individually? That would be counterproductive. There are no absolute rights or wrongs, but we must strive to care for all levels of society. If things continue as they are, others will suffer. At present, brokers have already been wiped out.
In fact, the owners of SMEs are also investors who put up capital to run their businesses but are not receiving a fair return. Zero commission—is this logical or reasonable in any way? The government needs to take a macro view, not a micro one, and consider the overall market development. Large, medium, and small enterprises should all participate. Right now, no one cares, which is why we need anti-monopoly and anti-dumping laws. Why do other countries have class-action lawsuits? It’s a form of mutual restraint.
Tomorrow’s livelihoods depend on today’s unity. The prosperity of the industry depends on your participation! The growth of the Association requires your nurturing, and its strength depends on your support!
Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association
Founder and Permanent Honorary Chairman
Wong Kwok On
July 24, 2022