ASSET managers in China will no longer be allowed to make a name for themselves by exploiting brands such as HSBC, Goldman, Morgan or Fidelity in their newly-launched funds, according to industry guidelines published last week.

They’re also barred from linking their products with market wizards such as Warren Buffett or Peter Lynch under new Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) rules that bar the unauthorized use in private fund products of renowned trademarks, names of famous people or institutions.

However, the rules that take effect Jan. 1 don’t apply to existing fund products, including the roughly 60 that use the HSBC name in Chinese characters and have nothing to do with the British banking giant, according to the AMAC’s website.

HSBC, which is among the biggest foreign players in China’s financial sector, declined to comment.

Privately, some industry executives complain that the government should do more to close regulatory loopholes that allow copycat practices to persist.

The rules, which the AMAC said are aimed at promoting orderly development of the private fund industry and protecting investors, come as China accelerates opening of its fund industry to foreign asset managers.

“Foreign brands have long been misused in China,” said Ivan Shi, head of research at fund consultancy Z-Ben Advisors.

“New rules would help foreign asset managers in China build their brand awareness and protect their reputation.”

The appropriation of Chinese versions of big foreign names in finance is widespread in China’s funds industry.

The Chinese name for Goldman Sachs is used in seven private funds, and eight asset managers registered with the AMAC, none of them related to the U.S. investment bank. The Chinese name for Fidelity is used in about 40 products and 12 firms unrelated to the funds giant, according to the AMAC.

Both U.S.-based firms declined to comment.

The surname of billionaire investor Warren Buffett is used on 20 Chinese fund products unrelated to the “Oracle of Omaha.”

One product called “Huifeng (the Chinese name for HSBC) Abundance Hedge Fund No. 1 with the Most Buffett Potential” has lost 52.13 percent since its inception in February 2015, ranking 5,159th among peers by Shenzhen Qianhai Simuwang Fund Distribution Co. based on investment returns. (SD-Agencies)