A small Hong Kong investment firm is taking on BlackRock and other giants of the asset management industry, listing two China A-share “smart beta” exchange traded funds on the local stock exchange for which it will charge half the usual fees.

Premia Partners’ two ETFs, which debuted in Hong Kong on Tuesday, are built around the stalwarts of the old economy and the icons of the new economy in China, respectively. But they are designed to offer lower volatility and higher returns on a risk-adjusted basis than traditional ETFs, and the management fee is half a percentage point compared to a full percentage point typical of traditional managers.

The new listings come ahead of the inclusion from next year of China in MCSI’s key emerging market equity indices. The addition of Chinese A-shares — the world’s second-largest market by capitalisation, behind the US — is expected to lure more professional money managers into mainland markets, which are currently are dominated by retail investors.