“Reopening of economies bodes well for investments,” Manulife Investment Management says

MANILA March 19, 2021 – In a recent webinar by Manulife Asset Management and Trust Corporation, global investment experts from Manulife Investment Management shared how investors can better position themselves as economies reopen, and vaccine rollouts in critical markets begin.

Titled “Resilient Solutions for Volatile Times and Beyond,” the webinar offered insights into how a multi-asset investment strategy can help investors generate income in highly volatile times, as well as investment opportunities in global healthcare equities given the healthcare sector’s exciting growth potential. 

"The economic downturns experienced by markets globally in 2020 are now being reversed by marked progress on vaccine rollouts in most economies," said Manulife Asset Management and Trust Corporation President and CEO Aira Gaspar. "As markets begin to recover, this webinar is part of our continuing commitment to keep our investors informed of these latest market developments. We want to provide them with insights that can help them develop a sound investment strategy and reach their financial goals."

Strategic positioning aims to generate income from multiple sources

Paul Kalogirou, Managing Director and Client Portfolio Manager for Multi-Asset at Manulife Investment Management, said that while the global economy contracted in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreaks, the outlook for 2021 is improving with vaccinations, as well as coordinated actions by international central banks and governments. 

Kalogirou says the Fed is expected to keep its foot on the monetary policy gas pedal for years to come to spur economic growth. Negative-yielding debt has grown to a record of USD17 trillion in early November 2020. Meanwhile, the spreads of emerging markets and Asia credits may narrow further. The U.S. high yield spreads continue to improve, with defaults close to peaking. Trailing 12-month default rates should decline in 2021.

The economic restart has helped equities rebound from the 2020 bottom, but recovery is still vulnerable to another outbreak of the pandemic. Meanwhile, with large-scale fiscal and loose monetary policies, global stocks have regained their pandemic losses.

Market sentiment swung to risk-on mode with positive news about the vaccine rollouts and the U.S. election results, while market volatilities retreated. “Fiscal stimulus plans and ongoing loose monetary policies, and the potential impact on economic recovery’s pace, remain key in 2021,” explains Kalogirou.

Against this backdrop, Manulife Investment Management’s multi-asset strategy, Manulife Global Multi-Asset Diversified Income Fund aims to achieve income from multiple sources and seeks to buffer market downsides via a flexible investment mandate that pivots for income.

Growth potential in global healthcare equities

Steven Slaughter, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for Global Healthcare Strategy at Manulife Investment Management, shared that global healthcare stocks are a powerful long-term investment opportunity that have outperformed the broad market, with substantial growth potential for over 25 years. “Because global healthcare stocks have typically held up better in down markets with low volatility, healthcare is a defensive sector that has attractive valuations and significant growth catalysts,” he says.

Manulife’s Healthcare Fund has a diversified sub-sector positioning to capture three global secular trends: an aging population that has increasing expenditures for healthcare; medical advances towards disease prevention; and unmet medical needs. Manulife Investment Management’s investment process allocates capital using appropriate valuation disciplines to companies tackling critical unmet medical needs such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, healthcare equipment and supplies, and healthcare providers and services.  

Long-term investment and diversification

While the initial roll-out of vaccines provides optimism for the re-opening of economies, rising COVID-19 cases will significantly impact market performance. Having a long-term investment horizon and diversified portfolio can help mitigate these risks. 

“Manulife understands the needs of investors who want to generate income and benefit from resilient investment solutions amidst the volatile market environment. We are pleased to provide access to global investment opportunities via the Global Multi-Asset Diversified Income Feeder Fund and Global Healthcare Feeder Fund, which are positioned to withstand market volatilities over time,” said Gaspar. “We will continue to provide differentiated unit investment trust funds that can help our clients live every day better.”

Those interested may view the webinar on Manulife Philippines’s Facebook page and website.  

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About Manulife Asset Management and Trust Corporation

Manulife Asset Management and Trust Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.) Inc. (Manulife Philippines). It provides investment solutions to both retail and institutional clients. The Company started its operations in September 2017. It is part of Manulife Investment Management, the global asset management arm of Manulife.

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 December 31, 2020, Manulife Investment Management had CAD$966 billion (US$758 billion) in assets under management and administration. 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 group that helps people make their decisions easier and their 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 wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups, and institutions. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of September 30, 2020, we had $1.3 trillion (US$943 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months, we made $31.2 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 Manulife Asset Management and Trust Corporation’s products and services are trust and/or investment solutions and NOT deposit accounts, obligations of, guaranteed, or insured by the Trustee 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 Asset Management and Trust Corporation is not liable for losses unless upon willful default, bad faith, or gross negligence on its part.

Manulife Asset 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 phcustomercare@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).