The Manulife Stars Income and Growth Fund recently received approval for distribution to Hong Kong’s retail investors, according to Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) records.
The Hong Kong-domiciled aims to provide income and capital appreciation over the medium to longer term by primarily investing in a portfolio of SFC-authroised funds (collective investment schemes) and qualified ETFs, according to Bloomberg data.
The fund was launched last Friday.
FSA contacted Manulife Investment Management for more information but it declined to comment.
The search for income-generating assets has intensified after central banks globally brought interest rates down further as they sought to backstop markets during the coronavirus pandemic. Several asset managers have recently prepared income funds for sale in Hong Kong.
Last month, Goldman Sachs Asset Management received approval from the SFC to launch the Global Multi-Asset Income Portfolio which has its highest asset allocation to corporate bonds high yield (27.9%), followed by call writing (27.6%), and US equity (25%).
Earlier in March, GF International Investment Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangzhou-based GF Fund Management, received green light from the SFC to launch its GFI Income Fund, FSA previously reported.
Last year, Manulife IM launched the Manulife Global Preferred Income Feeder Fund in the Philippines.
In Hong Kong, Manulife IM manages 33 SFC-authorised funds. In Singapore, it has 30 products for accredited investors and 15 funds for retail investors, according to FE Fundinfo.
The asset management arm of Toronto-based insurance giant had AUM of CA$832bn ($614.5bn) at the end of March, according to its website.
