Manulife Investment Management shares global investment opportunities for investors in the Philippines through Global REITs and India Equity Fund

MANILA September 2, 2021 - In today’s volatile economic landscape, having an investment portfolio with diversified asset classes in different regions may be more important than ever to achieve long-term financial aspirations and manage risks. This insight was highlighted at a recent Manulife Investment Management webinar titled, “Discovering New Horizons: Opportunities in Global REITs and India Equity,” which presented to investors in the Philippines the unique growth potential offered by global real estate investment trust funds (REITs) and listed equities in India, which is considered one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Global REITs can provide a yield advantage over other yield-oriented securities

Joseph Marguy, Managing Director and Lead Portfolio Manager for the Global Real Estate Strategy at Manulife Investment Management, shared that in light of emerging trends, global REITs present strong potential for attractive yields with consistent performance generation. 

With the changing global economic conditions through the second half of 2020, the Global Real Estate Strategy started to selectively take profits in industrial and data center/tower REITs that appreciated significantly due to COVID-related tailwinds. Proceeds were then directed to more attractively valued positions in the underperforming retail sub-sector. 

Heading into 2021 and through the year-to-date period, the Strategy continued to selectively take profits and reposition specific industrial and data center or tower REITs based on relative valuations. It added retail and residential positions that subsequently benefited from improved prospects for an economic recovery due to vaccine approvals and rollout. 

Sizeable and sustainable growth opportunities in India Equity

Rana Gupta, Senior Portfolio Manager and India Equity Specialist at Manulife Investment Management, shared that India’s continual economic reforms have paved the way for formalization and digitalization driving a sustainable domestic growth trajectory. At the same time, India’s economy is fueled by globally competitive wages and a young labor force, making the country one of the world’s next manufacturing powerhouses, which provides attractive opportunities to foreign investors.

Despite challenges posed by new COVID-19 variants, India’s vaccine rollout is set to temper volatility, as most of its urban areas are expected to be highly vaccinated by September. 

Leveraging the firm’s global investment capabilities, Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation PH offers investors in the Philippines actionable investment insights that may enable them to take advantage of investment opportunities across different market cycles, asset classes, and regions according to their goals, needs, and risk appetites, thus helping them achieve their financial aspirations.

To know more about Global REITs and India Equity Fund, you may view the webinar on Manulife Philippines’ Facebook page or visit http://www.manulifeim.com.ph/ . 

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About Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation

Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.) Inc. (Manulife Philippines). It acquired its trust and other fiduciary business license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in 2017 and started operations in September 2017. It operates under the brand name of Manulife Investment Management, the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. For additional information, please visit www.manulifeim.com.ph.

About Manulife Philippines 

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company opened its doors for business in the Philippines in 1907. Since then, Manulife’s Philippine Branch and later The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. (Manulife Philippines) has grown to become one of the country’s leading life insurance companies. Manulife Philippines is a wholly-owned domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, among the world’s largest life insurance companies by market capitalization. Learn more about Manulife Philippines by visiting their website www.manulife.com.ph and following them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ManulifePH), Twitter (@ManulifePH), and Instagram (@manulifeph).

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We’re committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.

As of June 30, 2021, Manulife Investment Management’s assets under management and administration, including assets managed for Manulife’s other segments, totaled CAD $1.0 trillion (US $834 billion). Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com. 

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and our global wealth and asset management segment, Manulife Investment Management, serves individuals, institutions and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2020, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 118,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 30 million customers. . As of June 30, 2021, we had CAD$1.3 trillion (US$1.1 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $31.3 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. 

Disclaimer

The products and services of Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation are trust and/or investment solutions and NOT deposit accounts, obligations of, guaranteed, or insured by the company, its parent company or its affiliates. The Fund/s are not insured or governed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). Due to the nature of the investment, yields and potential yields cannot be and are not guaranteed. Any loss/income arising from market fluctuations and price volatility of the securities held by the Fund/s, even if invested in government securities, is for the account of the client/participant. As such, the units of participation of the investor in the Fund/s, when redeemed, may be worth more or be worth less than his/her initial investment contributions. When presented, historical performance is purely for reference purposes and is not a guarantee of similar future results. Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation is not liable for losses unless upon willful default, bad faith, or gross negligence on its part.

Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation, its products and services are regulated and governed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) with telephone number (02) 8708-7087 and email address consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph. For inquiries or complaints relating to our products and services, you may call our Customer Care Hotline at (02) 8884-7000 or send an email to phtrust@manulife.com. To know your rights under BSP Circular No. 857 (Regulations on Financial Consumer Protection), please access a copy at the BSP website (www.bsp.gov.ph).