Manulife launches Asia Pacific bond fund

MANILA, Philippines - Manulife Philippines has launched the Asia Pacific Bond Fund, a dollar-denominated investment-linked fund, which maximizes total returns potential over a medium-to-long term period through a combination of capital appreciation and income generation. 

The fund primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of mostly investment grade (i.e., average of A-) fixed income securities issued by governments, agencies, supra-nationals and corporate issuers from across the Asia Pacific region.

The bond fund will be managed by a team of fixed income fund managers that is part of a global network of interconnected investment professionals under Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Ltd., the investment management arm of Manulife Financial in Asia.

Manulife Philippines president and chief executive officer Indren Naidoo explained that the Asia Pacific Bond Fund is a reliable and forward-thinking investment alternative for clients who maintain dollars in popular financial instruments such as time deposits, CASA (current account/savings account) and dollar bonds of local issuers.

“The fund is designed such that earnings are derived from three components or currency, credit and interest,” Naidoo added.

The chief executive said the bond fund is a good alternative investment outlet for investors given its target credit quality of “A” minus. It is expected to generate competitive returns because aside from interest and credits, clients who will invest in Asia Pacific Bond Fund can also take advantage of the potential appreciation of Asia Pacific currencies that are currently seen as being undervalued (e.g. Chinese yuan, Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit, etc.).

The bond fund is a fund option that may be attached to Manulife’s Affluence Max, which is a single-pay, dollar denominated variable life insurance product that gives the policyholder the best possible return on both their investment and built-in protection coverage. Affluence Max has a guaranteed insurability endorsement (GIE) feature that allows for applications without the need for medical examinations.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Manulife) started business in the Philippines in 1907. Since then, Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.) Inc. (Manulife Philippines) has grown to become one of the leading life insurance companies in the country. Manulife Philippines is a wholly-owned domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 21 countries and territories worldwide. Funds under management amounted Canada $481 billion ($498 billion) as at June 30, 2011. The company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.