Manulife Singapore and Manulife Asset Management Singapore have launched a new Asian bond fund, the Manulife Funds – Manulife Asia Pacific Investment Grade Bond Fund, under the CPF (Central Provident Fund) Investment Scheme.
The Fund will seek to maximise total returns by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment-grade debt securities issued by governments, agencies, supra-nationals and corporate issuers in the Asia Pacific region.
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The fund will be accessible to investors through a unit trust or an investment-linked policy, both of which are available under the CPF Investment Scheme and the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) or by subscribing through cash.
The new fund will be distributed through Manulife Singapore’s extensive distribution network, which includes Manulife’s 900 agents, 4 bank partners and 29 financial advisory firms, as well as via the iFAST and Navigator platforms.
In addition, the fund will focus on corporate credit in Asian markets as these issuances offer higher-than-global average yield and relatively short duration, which limits interest rate sensitivity.
Jill Smith, senior managing director at Manulife Asset Management Singapore, said: "We consider Asia an attractive investment destination as the region is expected to show 2014 GDP growth of 6.2%, more than two times higher than developed and other emerging markets. We see many opportunities to generate returns in the region based on the yield premium Asian bonds deliver versus equivalently rated developed-market bonds, generally attractive credit spreads and undervalued Asian currencies."
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By GlobalDataEndre Pedersen, managing director of Asian fixed income at Manulife Asset Management, said: "The Fund’s focus on investment-grade bonds may leave some potential gains on the table during risk-on periods, but we feel it offers a degree of downside resilience in the event of a risk-off scenario."
