The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relative to wealth advisors and their clients.
Manulife Investment Management
Manulife
Investment Management has launched a private credit strategy
in Singapore, tapping into continued enthusiasm for holding this
form of debt.
The new offering is called Manulife Private Credit Plus Strategy.
It seeks income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by
investing in middle-market companies alongside select
complementary, performance-enhancing credit exposures, Manulife
said in a statement.
It is a semi-liquid strategy that invests in US middle market
senior secured loans sourced across Manulife Investment
Management’s global private equity and credit platform and
enhanced through asset-based lending. The ABL is sourced through
the strategy’s third-party manager, Marathon Asset Management.
“We are excited to bring another innovative investment strategy
to investors in Singapore in a timely manner, as demand for
alternative sources of income continues to rise amid the
higher-for-longer rate environment and continued market
uncertainty,” HuiJian Koh, chief executive, Manulife Investment
Management Singapore said.
The firm noted that as more firms remain private, rather than
float on the stock market, or take longer to list, the relative
size of private market debt – and equity – has increased. These
assets typically pay higher yields to compensate for the lower –
on average – levels of liquidity. A decade-plus of ultra-low/zero
interest rates, and regulatory squeeze on traditional banks’
lending, has pumped up these assets.
However, there are concerns: the International
Monetary Fund has raised a red
flag about possible systemic risks from private credit’s
rapid growth. (The sector is sometimes known as “shadow
banking.”)
Private debt assets under management are expected to rise to $2.7
trillion in 2027 from $1.4 trillion in 2022, Manulife said,
citing figures from Preqin in 2023.
Value Partners
Value
Partners, a large Asian fund and asset management firm, has
just launched the Value Partners Japan REIT Fund in Hong Kong, to
capture the income and growth potentials of the Japanese real
estate market.
The fund aims to provide long-term capital appreciation and
income generation through investment in real estate investment
trusts (REITs) listed in Japan, the firm said in a statement.
It is the first Hong Kong SFC-authorised Japan REITs
fund which helps investors in Hong Kong to capture the
income offered in Japanese real estate. The Japan REITs market,
which is the biggest in Asia, is diversified across offices,
logistics, retail, hotel and residential sectors, allowing
investors to construct a diversified income portfolio within the
asset class, the firm added.
In addition to the Japanese yen share class, the fund provides
dollar-hedged, Hong Kong dollar-hedged, Chinese renminbi-hedged
and Singapore dollar-hedged share classes. The stable and
sustainable dividend yields offered by Japan REITs, together with
the interest differential of different currencies against the
yen, provide investors with an attractive and complementary
source of income in today’s environment, the firm continued.
Value Partners also said it collaborated with Daiwa Asset
Management in the research of Japan REITs to deepen its
understanding of the market.
“Looking forward, the strong momentum of Japan’s economy could
provide support for property prices, which could lead to
potential capital gains for REITs,” Ricky Tang, head of client
portfolio management at Value Partners, said.
