Prestige Wealth, Inc. (PWM) Risk Factors

We currently have no operations in mainland China. Our principal executive offices are located, and our subsidiaries operate, in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. In addition, we do not solicit any client or collect, store or process in mainland China any personal data of any client. As of the date of this Annual Report, the PRC government has not exerted direct influence and discretion over the manner in which our subsidiaries conduct their business activities outside of mainland China. However, there is no guarantee that we will not be subject to such direct influence or discretion in the future due to changes in laws or other unforeseeable reasons or as a result of our expansion or acquisition of operations in mainland China, considering our subsidiaries' clients include residents of mainland China. The legal system of mainland China is evolving rapidly and the PRC laws, regulations, and rules may change quickly with little advance notice. In particular, because these laws, rules and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited number of published decisions and the non-precedential nature of these decisions, the interpretation of these laws, rules and regulations may contain inconsistences, the enforcement of which involves uncertainties. The PRC government may exercise substantial control over many sectors of the economy in mainland China through regulation and/or state ownership. Government actions have had, and may continue to have, a significant effect on economic conditions in mainland China and businesses which are subject to such government actions. If our subsidiaries to become subject to the direct intervention or influence of the PRC government at any time due to changes in laws or other unforeseeable reasons or as a result of our development, expansion or acquisition of operations in mainland China, it may require a material change in our subsidiaries' operations and/or result in increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply.

We currently have no operations in mainland China. However, as a majority of the clients of our subsidiaries' wealth management services and asset management services are nationals of mainland China or residents in mainland China and our principal executive offices are located, and our subsidiaries operate in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, there is no guarantee that if certain existing or future PRC laws become applicable to our subsidiaries, it will not have a material adverse impact on our subsidiaries' business, financial condition and results of operations and/or our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. Except for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Region of the People's Republic of China ("Basic Law"), national laws of mainland China ("National Laws") do not apply in Hong Kong unless they are listed in Annex III of the Basic Law and applied locally by promulgation or local legislation. National Laws that may be listed in Annex III are currently limited under the Basic Law to those which fall within the scope of defense and foreign affairs as well as other matters outside the limits of the autonomy of Hong Kong. PRC laws and regulations relating to data protection, cyber security and the anti-monopoly have not been listed in Annex III and thus they may not apply directly to Hong Kong. The PRC laws and regulations are evolving, and their enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation involve significant uncertainties. To the extent any PRC laws and regulations become applicable to our subsidiaries, we may be subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with the legal system in mainland China, including with respect to the enforcement of laws and the possibility of changes of rules and regulations with little or no advance notice. We may also become subject to the PRC laws and regulations to the extent our subsidiaries commence business and customer facing operations in mainland China as a result of any future acquisition, expansion or organic growth.

As a company mainly conducting business in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China and our subsidiaries' clients include mainland China residents, our subsidiaries' business and our prospects, financial condition, and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic, and social conditions in China generally. The PRC government may intervene or influence the operations in mainland China of an offshore holding company at any time, which, if extended to our subsidiaries' operations in Hong Kong, could result in a material adverse change to our subsidiaries' operations. The PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over listings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in issuers based in mainland China. For instance, on July 6, 2021, the relevant PRC governmental authorities promulgated the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities, which emphasized the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by companies in mainland China. We cannot assure you that the oversight will not be extended to companies operating in Hong Kong like us and any such action may significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors, result in a material adverse change to our subsidiaries' business operations, including our subsidiaries' Hong Kong operations, and damage our reputation.

The Cybersecurity Review Measures jointly promulgated by the CAC and other relevant PRC governmental authorities on December 28, 2021 required that, among others, "critical information infrastructure" or network platform operators holding over one million users' personal information to apply for a cybersecurity review before any public offering on a foreign stock exchange. However, this regulation is recently issued and there remain substantial uncertainties about its interpretation and implementation. As of the date of this Annual Report, we and our subsidiaries do not have any business operation or maintain any office or personnel in mainland China. We and our subsidiaries have not collected, stored, or managed any personal information in mainland China. Based on our inquiry with the China Cybersecurity Review Technology and Certification Center (the "CCRC") and the assessment conducted by the management, we believe that we and our subsidiaries are not currently required to proactively apply to a cybersecurity review for our IPO or follow-on offerings overseas, on the basis that (i) our subsidiaries are incorporated in Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, and other jurisdictions outside of mainland China and operate in Hong Kong without any subsidiary or variable interest entities ("VIE") structure in mainland China, and we do not maintain any office or personnel in mainland China; (ii) except for the Basic Law, the National Laws do not apply in Hong Kong unless they are listed in Annex III of the Basic Law and applied locally by promulgation or local legislation, and National Laws that may be listed in Annex III are currently limited under the Basic Law to those which fall within the scope of defense and foreign affairs as well as other matters outside the limits of the autonomy of Hong Kong, and PRC laws and regulations relating to data protection and cyber security have not been listed in Annex III as the date of this Annual Report; (iii) our data processing activities are solely carried out by our overseas entities outside of mainland China for the purpose of offering products or services in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions outside of mainland China; (iv) we and our subsidiaries do not control more than one millions users' personal information as of the date of this Annual Report; (v) as of the date of this Annual Report, we and our subsidiaries have not received any notice of identifying us as critical information infrastructure from any relevant PRC governmental authorities; (vi) as of the date of this Annual Report, none of us or our subsidiaries have been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement for a cybersecurity review; and (vii) based on our inquiry with the CCRC, the officer who provides cybersecurity review consultation service under CCRC believes that we are currently not required to apply to a cybersecurity review for our public offerings on a foreign stock exchange with the CAC because we neither currently have any operation in mainland China nor control more than one millions users' personal information as of the date of this Annual Report. Additionally, we believe that we and our subsidiaries are compliant with the regulations and policies that have been issued by the CAC to date and there was no material change to these regulations and policies since our IPO. However, regulatory requirements on cybersecurity and data security in the mainland China are constantly evolving and can be subject to varying interpretations or significant changes, which may result in uncertainties about the scope of our responsibilities in that regard, and there can be no assurance that the relevant PRC governmental authorities, including the CAC, would reach the same conclusion as our PRC counsel. We will closely monitor and assess the implementation and enforcement of the Cybersecurity Review Measures. If the Cybersecurity Review Measures mandates clearance of cybersecurity and/or data security regulators and other specific actions to be completed by companies like us, we may face uncertainties as to whether we can meet such requirements timely, or at all. On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the "Trial Measures") and five supporting guidelines, which took effect on March 31, 2023. The Trial Measures requires companies in mainland China that seek to offer and list securities overseas, both directly and indirectly, to fulfill the filing procedures with the CSRC. According to the Trial Measures, the determination of the "indirect overseas offering and listing by companies in mainland China" shall comply with the principle of "substance over form" and particularly, an issuer will be required to go through the filing procedures under the Trial Measures if the following criteria are met at the same time: (i) 50% or more of the issuer's operating revenue, total profits, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year are accounted for by companies in mainland China; and (ii) the main parts of the issuer's business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main places of business are located in mainland China, or the senior managers in charge of its business operation and management are mostly Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China. On the same day, the CSRC held a press conference for the release of the Trial Measures and issued the Notice on Administration for the Filing of Overseas Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, which clarifies that (i) on or prior to the effective date of the Trial Measures, companies in mainland China that have already submitted valid applications for overseas offering and listing but have not obtained approval from overseas regulatory authorities or stock exchanges shall complete the filing before the completion of their overseas offering and listing; and (ii) companies in mainland China which, prior to the effective date of the Trial Measures, have already obtained the approval from overseas regulatory authorities or stock exchanges and are not required to re-perform the regulatory procedures with the relevant overseas regulatory authority or stock exchange, but have not completed the indirect overseas listing, shall complete the overseas offering and listing before September 30,2023, and failure to complete the overseas listing within such six-month period will subject such companies to the filing requirements with the CSRC. Based on the assessment conducted by the management, we are not subject to the Trial Measures, because we are incorporated in the Cayman Islands and our subsidiaries are incorporated in Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands and other regions outside of mainland China and operate in Hong Kong without any subsidiary or VIE structure in mainland China, and we do not have any business operations or maintain any office or personnel in mainland China. However, as the Trial Measures and the supporting guidelines are newly published, there exists uncertainty with respect to the implementation and interpretation of the principle of "substance over form". As of the date of this Annual Report, there was no material change to these regulations and policies since our IPO If our offering, including the IPO and future follow-on offerings, and listing were later deemed as "indirect overseas offering and listing by companies in mainland China" under the Trial Measures, we may need to complete the filing procedures for our offering, including the IPO and future follow-on offerings, and listing. If we are subject to the filing requirements, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete such filings in a timely manner or even at all. Since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is also highly uncertain in the interpretation and the enforcement of the above cybersecurity and overseas listing laws and regulation. There is no assurance that the relevant PRC governmental authorities would reach the same conclusion as us. If we and/or our subsidiaries are required to obtain approval or fillings from any governmental authorities, including the CAC and/or the CSRC, in connection with the listing or continued listing of our securities on a stock exchange outside of Hong Kong or mainland China, it is uncertain how long it will take for us and/or our subsidiaries to obtain such approval or complete such filing, and, even if we and our subsidiaries obtain such approval or complete such filing, the approval or filing could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or a delay in obtaining the necessary permissions from or complete the necessary filing procedure with the PRC governmental authorities to conduct offerings or list outside of Hong Kong or mainland China may subject us and/or our subsidiaries to sanctions imposed by the PRC governmental authorities, which could include fines and penalties, suspension of business, proceedings against us and/or our subsidiaries, and even fines on the controlling shareholder and other responsible persons, and our subsidiaries' ability to conduct our business, our ability to invest into mainland China as foreign investments or accept foreign investments, or our ability to list on a U.S. or other overseas exchange may be restricted, and our subsidiaries' business, and our reputation, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with the majority of our operations in Hong Kong. Accordingly, most of our cash is maintained in Hong Kong dollars. We rely in part on dividends from our Hong Kong subsidiaries for our cash and financing requirements, such as the funds necessary to service any debt we may incur. There is currently no restriction or limitation under the laws of Hong Kong on the conversion of Hong Kong dollars into foreign currencies and the transfer of currencies out of Hong Kong and the foreign currency regulations of mainland China do not currently have any material impact on the transfer of cash between us and our Hong Kong subsidiaries. However, there is a possibility that certain PRC laws and regulations, including existing laws and regulations and those enacted or promulgated in the future were to become applicable to our Hong Kong subsidiaries in the future and the PRC government may prevent our cash maintained in Hong Kong from leaving or restrict the deployment of the cash into our business or for the payment of dividends in the future. Any such controls or restrictions, if imposed in the future and to the extent cash is generated in our Hong Kong subsidiaries and to the extent assets (other than cash) in our business are located in Hong Kong or held by a Hong Kong entity and may need to be used to fund operations outside of Hong Kong, may adversely affect our ability to finance our cash requirements, service debt or make dividend or other distributions to our shareholders. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the PRC government will not intervene or impose restrictions on our ability to transfer or distribute cash within our organization, which could result in an inability or prohibition on making transfers or distributions to entities outside of Hong Kong and adversely affect our business.

Insurance products and insurance products service providers are strictly regulated in Hong Kong. While we believe our subsidiaries are not regulated as insurance agents or insurance brokers under Hong Kong laws, our subsidiaries may be affected by Hong Kong financial regulations as a result of the insurance products distributed by the product brokers our subsidiaries work with and their relationships with those product brokers. Under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Chapter 221 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or the CPO, any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission by another person of any offence shall be guilty of the like offence. If any insurance products distributed by any product broker our subsidiaries work with, or the business practice of the product brokers, is deemed to violate any Hong Kong laws or regulations, we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will not be liable for assisting in the distribution of the product or otherwise found guilty of aiding, abetting, counseling or procuring the same offence committed by the product broker, even if we are not the direct provider of the product. Under the Insurance Ordinance (Chapter 41 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or the IO, any person who induces or attempts to induce another person to enter into a contract of insurance by making a false, misleading or deceptive statement, promise or representation, or by making a dishonest concealment of material facts commits an offence and is subject to a maximum fine of HK$1,000,000 (approximately $128,000) and imprisonment for up to two years. Further, under the IO, any person who holds himself/herself out to be (i) an insurance agent if he/she is not an appointed insurance agent of an insurer; or (ii) an insurance broker if he/she is not an authorized insurance broker, commits an offence and is subject to a maximum fine of HK$1,000,000 (approximately $128,000) and imprisonment for up to two years. If any of the insurance brokers our subsidiaries work with is deemed to commit any of these offences, we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will not be found guilty of the same offence and liable for the same penalties if our subsidiaries are found guilty of aiding, abetting, counseling or procuring the same offence. As a result of any of the foregoing, our business, financial condition and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Our subsidiaries are required to comply with applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws and regulations in Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands in respect of our subsidiaries' assets management operation. These regulations require our subsidiaries, among others, to perform verification of customer identification, reporting of suspicious transactions, and preservation of customer identification information and transaction records. While our subsidiaries have adopted relevant procedures and policies such as client onboarding due diligence including name screening for purposes of anti-money laundering compliance, reviewing client profiles, transactions and funds transfer. Our subsidiaries also conduct anti-money laundering risk self-assessment including reviewing our anti-money laundering policy and procedures periodically to ensure that our subsidiaries comply with anti-money laundering guidance and counter-terrorist financing guideline. We cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will be able to establish and maintain effective anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing policies and procedures to completely eliminate any risk of being exploited for money laundering or terrorism financing purposes or that such policies and procedures, if adopted, will be deemed to be in compliance with applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws and regulations. Furthermore, if any of the hedge funds that our subsidiaries invest in fails to comply with applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations, our reputation could suffer and we could become subject to regulatory intervention, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We intend to conduct business in California through our subsidiaries and are subject to comprehensive regulation and supervision by government agencies in California including the California Department of Insurance. The primary purpose of such regulation and supervision is to provide safeguards for policyholders rather than to protect the interests of our shareholders, and it is difficult to anticipate how changes in such regulation would be implemented and enforced. As a result, such regulation and supervision could result in enforcement actions, fines or other penalties in the event of non-compliance and could reduce our profitability or growth by increasing compliance costs, technology compliance, restricting the services our subsidiaries may offer, the markets our subsidiaries may enter, the methods by which our subsidiaries may offer services, or the referral fees our subsidiaries may charge for their services and the form of compensation they may accept from insurance brokers or other third parties. In addition, the laws of the various other state jurisdictions establish supervisory agencies with broad administrative powers with respect to, among other things, licensing of entities to transact business, licensing of agents, admittance of assets, regulating premium rates, approving policy forms, regulating unfair trade and claims practices, determining technology and data protection requirements, establishing reserve requirements and solvency standards, requiring participation in guarantee funds and shared market mechanisms, and restricting payment of dividends. Further, state insurance regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners continually re-examine existing laws and regulations, and such re-examination may result in the enactment of insurance-related laws and regulations, or the issuance of interpretations thereof, that adversely affect our business. Certain federal financial services modernization legislation could lead to additional federal regulation of some aspects of the insurance industry in the coming years, which could result in increased expenses or restrictions on our subsidiaries' operations and cause us to incur additional direct costs in complying with any new regulations, as well as increased indirect costs resulting from any insurance broker incurring additional compliance costs that get passed on to us. These costs may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. Although we believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with applicable local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations, there can be no assurance that more restrictive laws, rules, regulations or interpretations thereof, will not be adopted in the future that could make compliance more difficult or expensive.

Our subsidiaries' third-party product brokers, providers or other business counterparties may be subject to regulatory penalties or punishments because of their regulatory compliance failures, which may affect our subsidiaries' business activities and reputation and in turn, our results of operations. Although our subsidiaries conduct due diligence on their business counterparties, we cannot be certain whether any such counterparty has infringed or will infringe any third parties' legal rights or violate any regulatory requirements. Under the CPO, any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission by another person of any offence shall be guilty of the like offence. Accordingly, if any of our subsidiaries' business counterparties is deemed to commit any offence, we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will not be found guilty of the same offence and liable for the same penalties if our subsidiaries are found guilty of aiding, abetting, counseling or procuring the same offence. We cannot assure you that these counterparties will continue to maintain all applicable permits and approvals, and any non-compliance on the part of these counterparties may cause potential liabilities to our subsidiaries and in turn disrupt their operations.

We are not, and do not intend to operate as an investment adviser subject to registration and regulation under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act"). In general, the Advisers Act subjects to registration and regulation any person who meets the definition of investment adviser and makes use of the U.S. mails other U.S. jurisdictional means. The definition of "investment adviser" encompasses any person who, for compensation, is engaged in the business of advising others about securities. We do not provide advice about securities and, thus, we do not meet the Advisers Act definition of investment adviser. Consequently, we are not subject to registration and regulation under the Advisers Act. Rather, we serve as a holding company for several direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries that provide wealth management and asset management services. All of the Company's asset management services are located outside of the U.S. and provide asset management services outside of the U.S. exclusively to non-U.S. persons. The Advisers Act and the rules and regulations under the Advisers Act impose certain operational restrictions and compliance obligations on registered investment advisers. These include, for example, limitations on engaging in principal and agency transactions with clients, as well as charging performance-based fees. The U.S. Supreme Court has also held that the Advisers Act imposes on registered investment advisers a fiduciary duty to eliminate or at least disclose conflicts of interest. If we were subject to registration and regulation under the Advisers Act, these limitations and obligations could make it more difficult for us to continue our business and could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and financial condition. Although our investment strategies might change in the future, we do not and will not engage in activities that will subject us to registration and regulation under the Advisers Act and we believe we will not be deemed to be an "investment advisor" under the Advisers Act.

We are not, and, do not intend to operate as an "investment company" subject to registration and regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act"). The 1940 Act, generally, subjects to registration and regulation any company that it is or holds itself out as engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities (a "de facto investment company"). Historically, in determining whether a company is "engaged primarily" in the investment company business, and, thus, a de facto investment company, the courts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") have considered the following five factors: (1) the company's historic development; (2) the company's public representation of policy; (3) the activities of the company's officers and directors; (4) the source of the company's present income; and (5) the nature of the company's present assets (the Tonopah Factors"). More recently the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in SEC v. National Presto Industries, Inc., 486 F.3d 305, 315 (7th Cir. 2007) that what principally matters is the beliefs that a company is likely to induce in investors. Specifically, whether its portfolio and activities will lead investors to treat the company as an investment vehicle or as an operating enterprise. The Company is a not "engaged primarily" in the investment company business under the Tonopah Factors and, therefore, is not a de facto investment company. Rather, since its inception, the Company has been engaged primarily in providing wealth management services and asset management services to high net worth individuals through its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company has represented to the public since inception that is a holding company engaged in the business of providing wealth management services and asset management services through its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company's officers and directors devote substantially all of their time overseeing the provision of wealth management and asset management services to clients through the direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Substantially all of the Company's revenue is derived from the wealth management services revenue and the asset management services revenue of its direct and direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Finally, substantially all of the Company's assets are comprised of the Company's interests in the wholly-owned subsidiaries through which it provides wealth management services and asset management services. The 1940 Act also subjects to registration and regulation any company that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities, and does not own or propose to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis ("prima facie investment company"). The term "investment securities," generally, includes all securities other than government securities and securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not, themselves, investment companies. The Company also is not a prima facie investment company because substantially all of its assets are comprised of securities issued by wholly-owned subsidiaries that are not investment companies. Thus, substantially less than 40% of the value of the Company's total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) are comprised of investment securities. In summary, the Company is neither a de facto investment company or a prima facie investment company presently subject to registration and regulation under the 1940 Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we were deemed an investment company under the 1940 Act, requirements imposed by the 1940 Act, including limitations on capital structure, ability to transact business with affiliates and ability to compensate key employees, may make it impractical for us to continue our business as currently conducted and materially and adversely affect our business, operations and financial condition.

Under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Chapter 282 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or the ECO, no employer shall employ any employee in any employment unless there is in force in relation to such employee a policy of insurance issued by an insurer for an amount not less than the applicable amount specified in the Fourth Schedule of the ECO in respect of the liability of the employer. For the periods between November 1, 2016 and October 4, 2017, PAM has not taken sufficient employee compensation insurance for its employees required of PAM under the ECO. For the period between July 7, 2018 and August 23, 2018, since PAM was in the process of renewing its employee compensation insurance policy, PAM has not taken employee compensation insurance for its employees required of PAM under the ECO during such period. For the period between September 25, 2017 and August 23, 2018, due to lack of corporate bank account, PWM has not taken sufficient employee compensation insurance for its employees required of PWM under the ECO. As a result of the foregoing, PAM and PWM may be found guilty of a criminal offence and be held liable on conviction to a fine of HK$100,000 (approximately $12,800). Under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Chapter 485 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or the MPFSO, every employer of an employee of 18 years of age or above but under 65 years of age is required to take all practical steps to ensure the employee becomes a member of a registered non-governmental mandatory provident fund scheme, or MPF Scheme. Subject to the minimum and maximum relevant income levels, it is mandatory for both employers and their employees to contribute 5% of the employee's relevant income to the MPF Scheme. For the period between October 17, 2017 and August 9, 2018, instead of making contributions to the MPF Scheme required under the MPFSO, PWM paid the amounts directly to its employees. As a result of the foregoing, PWM may be found guilty of a criminal offence and be held liable on conviction to a fine of HK$350,000 (approximately $44,700).

PGAM, being the manager of PCM1, could be regarded as subject to the SFC's regulations and thus be required to obtain from the SFC a Type 9 License for conducting regulated activities related to asset management. PCM1 invested in the Underlying Fund, where PCM1 was the limited partner and a third-party fund manager was general partner who assumed ultimate responsibility for the management and control of the Underlying Fund. The Underlying Fund invested as anchor investor in the IPO shares of a company prior to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. While the relevant rules and guidelines have not clearly defined if conducting asset management for Hong Kong investors would constitute a regulated activity which is subject to the SFO, the SFC reserves the discretion to assess the nature of the business activities as a whole taking into account a number of factors, including but not limited to the level of connections of the services provided within Hong Kong, whether the services are packaged to target the public of Hong Kong and whether the services are sought out by the customers on their own initiative, and make determination. Among the investors of PCM1, at least 4 individual investors or the ultimate beneficial owner of the corporate investors could be regarded as Hong Kong investors. As such, subject to the SFC's discretion, there is a possibility that PGAM could be regarded as conducting the regulated activity of asset management which is subject to the SFC's regulations for the purpose of protecting Hong Kong investor's interests. In such event, if PGAM did not have a reasonable justification, PGAM could be found guilty of a criminal offence and even be held liable on conviction to a fine of HK$5,000,000 (approximately $638,000).

The economy in Hong Kong has experienced increases in inflation and labor costs in recent years. As a result, average wages in Hong Kong are expected to continue to increase. In addition, our subsidiaries are required by Hong Kong laws and regulations to maintain various statutory employee benefits, including mandatory provident fund scheme and work-related injury insurance, to provide statutorily required paid sick leave, annual leave and maternity leave, and make severance payments or long service payments. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has complied with such requirements, and those employers who fail to comply commit a criminal offence and may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment. We expect that our subsidiaries' labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless our subsidiaries are able to control their labor costs or pass on these increased labor costs to their users by increasing the fees of their services, our financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.

We believe our success depends on the efforts and talent of our subsidiaries' employees, including client relationship management, asset management professionals, and macro analysis professionals. Our future success depends on our subsidiaries' continued ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain qualified and skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled technical, risk management and financial personnel is extremely intense. Our subsidiaries may not be able to hire and retain these personnel at compensation levels consistent with our subsidiaries' existing compensation and salary structure. Some of the companies with which our subsidiaries compete for experienced employees have greater resources than our subsidiaries have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment. In addition, our subsidiaries plan to invest significant time and expenses in training their employees, which we expect will increase the value of these employees to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If our subsidiaries fail to retain their employees, our subsidiaries could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements, and the quality of our subsidiaries' services and their ability to serve their high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients, resulting in a material adverse effect to our subsidiaries' business.

Due to the impact of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we generated an insignificant amount in revenue from referral fees paid by insurance brokers for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, through our subsidiaries, we started providing wealth management services to clients in the U.S. market and generated a significant portion of our revenues from referral fees paid by a U.S.-based insurance broker. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, we derived a small portion of our revenues from referral fees paid by insurance brokers. The referral fee rates are set by such brokers or negotiated between such parties and our subsidiaries, and vary from product to product. Future referral fee rates may be subject to change based on the prevailing political, economic, regulatory, taxation and competitive factors that affect product providers. These factors, which are not within our subsidiaries' control, include the capacity of wealth management product providers to place new business and realize profits, client demand and preference for wealth management products, the availability of comparable products from other providers or brokers at a lower cost, the availability of alternative wealth management products to clients and the tax deductibility of referral fees. In addition, the historical volume of wealth management products that our subsidiaries' clients purchased to may have a significant impact on our subsidiaries' bargaining power with third-party wealth management product brokers in relation to the referral fee rates for future products. Because our subsidiaries do not determine, and cannot predict, the timing or extent of referral fee rate changes with respect to the wealth management products, it is difficult for our subsidiaries to assess the effect of any of these changes on our operations. In order to maintain their relationships with the product brokers and to enter into contracts for new products, our subsidiaries may have to accept lower referral fee rates or other less favorable terms, which could reduce our revenues. If some of our key wealth management product brokers decide not to enter into new contracts with our subsidiaries, or our subsidiaries' relationships with such key wealth management product brokers are otherwise impacted, our subsidiaries' business and our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

The product brokers our subsidiaries work with distribute a broad variety of wealth management products supplied by third-party product providers, which currently are primarily general insurance products and investment-linked insurance products. These products often have complex structures and involve various risks, such as market risk, liquidity risk, credit risks and inflation risks. The product brokers our subsidiaries work with must accurately describe the products to, and evaluate them for, our subsidiaries' clients. Our success in having the clients we refer to insurance brokers purchase insurance products from such brokers depends, partly, on the clients' trust on us to recommend quality product brokers who have the knowledge know-how and expertise to advise on the various risks. If the product brokers our subsidiaries work with fail to identify and fully appreciate the risks associated with products that are distributed to our clients, or fail to disclose such risks to our subsidiaries' clients, and as a result our subsidiaries' clients suffer financial loss or other damages resulting from their purchase of the wealth management products following our recommendation of the product brokers, our reputation, client relationships, business and prospects will be materially and adversely affected.