On behalf of Noah's Board of Directors (the "Board") and management team, I would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to all shareholders. The year 2024 marked a pivotal chapter in our global expansion, representing a new era of entrepreneurship for Noah. With firm resolve, we embarked on this journey by comprehensively transforming our distribution channels, strengthening our compliance framework, and driving sustainable growth through our overseas expansion.
The challenges presented by this transformation were unprecedented. We had to navigate and comply with diverse regulatory frameworks across multiple jurisdictions and break established operational routines. Simultaneously, we needed to empower our core teams to achieve breakthroughs while continuously attracting global talent. This was not merely a business transformation, but a comprehensive enhancement of our organizational capabilities.
Resilience Amid Challenges
We are a wealth management service provider dedicated to serving global Chinese high-net-worth individuals ("HNWIs"). Since our founding, we have remained true to our core philosophy: "client-centric, with survival as the bottom line." Starting in 2022, we anticipated that this period would be critical for the adjustment of clients' strategic asset allocation and proactively advised them to reduce exposure to risk assets while constructing global allocation frameworks based on our "pyramid" model. This approach has benefited many clients, effectively preserving their wealth during turbulent market conditions.
We recognize that distribution channels constitute the core of our business. As the primary interface connecting products and markets, the transformation of our distribution channels represented our most significant challenge. The complexity lies in balancing personal emotions with rational decisions. While our relationship managers and clients value personal connections, as a professional wealth management service provider pursuing overseas expansion, we must consistently uphold compliance standards and build a sustainable long-term business model through rational decision-making. Our vision is to "express care through professionalism". We are committed to supporting our relationship managers' long-term growth on our platform while helping clients pursue their aspirations for "success, well-being, and prosperity" through exceptional services.
In 2024, we underwent a transformation that far exceeded our initial expectations in both scope and complexity, requiring significantly more resources and effort. Nevertheless, through the collective dedication of all our entire team, we successfully achieved a number of our phased strategic objectives.
Domestically, we undertook significant compliance-driven restructuring to align with increasingly stringent regulations. This included separating domestic sales teams into independent licensed business units and consolidating operations into core cities while enhancing online capabilities for remote engagement. Simultaneously, we optimized our operational systems, including human resources and product matrix management, while strengthening compliance and risk management frameworks. We are steadily transitioning from reliance on individual capabilities toward building robust organizational capacity. This not only lays a solid foundation for overseas expansion but also supports our long-term growth. The Hong Kong and mainland China market rally in late 2024 showcased this as demand surged for our RMB-denominated public securities products, demonstrating our agility to capitalize on market opportunities.
Globally, we have established a team of 138 overseas relationship managers in key markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore who are now delivering regionally tailored services to local clients. In our insurance and comprehensive services business, we have also begun building a team of commission-only agents, achieving promising early results. To accelerate our overseas expansion, we launched three new brands—ARK Wealth Management, Olive Asset Management, and Glory Family Heritage—which will support our overseas efforts to serve existing clients and reach new markets. Booking centers were established in key financial hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States (under final preparation) as well as an office in Japan, while pilot programs were initiated in Canada and Southeast Asia.
The progress we have made in transforming our domestic and overseas operations is already yielding tangible results which are clearly reflected in our performance over the past year:
Domestically, we restructured our sales teams into fully independent and licensed business units, with operations consolidated into core cities;
Domestic transaction value for RMB private secondary products increased by over 200% sequentially during the fourth quarter of 2024;
Overseas net revenues increased to 48% of total revenue in 2024 while overseas transaction value increased by 31% year-over-year to US$4.3 billion;
Overseas assets under management increased by 18% year-over-year to US$5.8 billion in 2024 while overseas assets under administration increased by 5% year-over-year to US$8.7 billion.
Having generated RMB 550 million in non-GAAP net income attributable to Noah shareholders in 2024, the Board has, for the second consecutive year, approved dividends equivalent to 100% of full-year 2024 non-GAAP net income. This consists of an annual dividend of RMB275 million (US$37.7 million) and a special dividend of RMB275 million (US$37.7 million), and directly complements our ongoing US$50 million share repurchase program, in recognition of our deeply undervalued share price.
A New Era for Wealth Management
As the founder and Chairwoman, I have guided Noah through more than two decades of market fluctuations and financial crises. Throughout this journey, I have developed a profound appreciation for the inherent resilience of the wealth management industry – a resilience rooted in the long-term trust built with our clients. We remain steadfast in our commitment to client-centric, long-term value creation through professional wealth management services.
We firmly believe that global asset allocation for global Chinese HNWIs will remain a dominant trend for the next two to three decades. As the current phase of globalization concludes, a new era of capital globalization is emerging. Global Chinese HNWIs have historically been underserved by the wealth management industry, creating substantial opportunities for institutions that truly understand their cultural background and unique needs. With deep roots in China and extensive experience serving Chinese investors onshore, we have developed a deep and profound understanding of this investor demographic. This represents a distinctive competitive advantage and defines our core mission: to become the preferred wealth management platform for global Chinese HNWIs.
Outlook for 2025
As we enter 2025, we recognize the ongoing volatility in global markets, driven by unprecedented macroeconomic uncertainties and shifting investor sentiment. These challenges underscore the importance of maintaining a disciplined yet forward-looking approach to navigating this complex environment. Our strategic priorities for 2025 will focus on three key areas:
1. Expanding our relationship manager team. In countries and regions where we have established booking centers, we will continue to recruit and develop relationship managers while strengthening their compliance awareness and professional capabilities.
2. Serving existing clients and building a new client base. We will continue to service domestic HNWIs as well as new and established global Chinese immigrants, developing tailored products and solutions for each client segment. Leveraging our years of experience, we are confident in our ability to offer services comparable to leading international private banks, helping clients build sophisticated global asset allocation strategies.
3. Strengthening our global infrastructure. We recognize that technological and AI capabilities are fundamental to our overseas expansion. We will prioritize investments in these areas, leveraging the advantages in technical talent and application expertise that China offers. Our objective is to build a sophisticated digital platform that supports our global operations, and establish a long-term competitive advantage.
Prioritizing Shareholder Interests and Delivering Sustained Returns
We remain committed to our long-term core philosophy of being "client-centric, with survival as the bottom line" and prioritizing shareholder interests and delivering sustained returns.
Since our listing in 2010, our business has remained profitability and continues to generate healthy cash flow. Notably, we generated over RMB 2 billion in operating cash flow in just the past three years alone. In addition to our substantial cash reserves, we proactively completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong back in 2022, to prepare for any market volatility that was impacting US-listed Chinese stocks. With disciplined strategic execution and a robust financial position, we possess significant growth potential. As markets recover, we are ideally-positioned to create shared value for both clients and shareholders, delivering increasingly attractive returns over the long term.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our clients, shareholders, and all our stakeholders for your steadfast support over the years. Your invaluable trust is our greatest motivation and is our most profound responsibility. Looking ahead, we will advance our strategic initiatives with even greater determination and disciplined, working tirelessly to deliver exceptional long-term value in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Ms. Jingbo Wang Chairwoman of the Board
ABOUT NOAH HOLDINGS LIMITED
Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE: NOAH and HKEX: 6686) is a leading and pioneer wealth management service provider offering comprehensive one-stop advisory services on global investment and asset allocation primarily for mandarin-speaking high-net-worth investors. Noah's American depositary shares, or ADSs, are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NOAH", and its shares are listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "6686." One ADS represents five ordinary shares, par value $0.00005 per share.
In 2024, Noah distributed RMB63.9 billion (US$8.8 billion) of investment products. Through Gopher Asset Management and Olive Asset Management, Noah had assets under management of RMB151.5 billion (US$20.8 billion) as of December 31, 2024.
Noah's domestic and overseas wealth management business primarily distributes private equity, public securities and insurance products denominated in RMB and other currencies. Noah's network covers major cities in mainland China, as well as Hong Kong (China), New York, Silicon Valley, Singapore, and Los Angeles. The Company's wealth management business had 462,049 registered clients as of December 31, 2024. Through its domestic and overseas asset management business operated by Gopher Asset Management and Olive Asset Management, Noah manages private equity, public securities, real estate, multi-strategy and other investments denominated in RMB and other currencies. The Company also provides other businesses.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Noah may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange"), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Noah's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, estimates regarding the sufficiency of Noah's cash and cash equivalents and liquidity risk. A number of factors could cause Noah's actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: its goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the wealth management and asset management market in China and internationally; its expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of the products it distributes; investment risks associated with investment products distributed to Noah's investors, including the risk of default by counterparties or loss of value due to market or business conditions or misconduct by counterparties; its expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with key clients; relevant government policies and regulations relating to its industries; its ability to attract and retain qualified employees; its ability to stay abreast of market trends and technological advances; its plans to invest in research and development to enhance its product choices and service offerings; competition in its industries in China and internationally; general economic and business conditions in China; and its ability to effectively protect its intellectual property rights and not to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Noah's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Noah does not undertake any obligation to update any such information, including forward-looking statements, as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under the applicable law.
