Allianz PNB Life, the insurance joint venture of Allianz and Philippine National Bank (PNB), has launched the Peso-Hedged Diversified Income Dividend Paying Fund, which invests in Pimco’s Diversified Income Fund, according to a statement from the firm.
Pimco is an asset management unit acquired by Allianz in 2000, but continues to operate as an independent subsidiary of Allianz.
The fund aims to provide investors with regular dividend income, according to firm’s website. The fund will also apply a hedging mechanism via forwards that will minimize the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuation between the Philippine peso and the US dollar.
Pimco’s Diversified Income Fund was incepted in 2006 and has $15.7bn in assets, according to its fund factsheet. The fund invests in a diversified pool of corporate and emerging market fixed income securities and holds both non-US dollar-denominated fixed income securities and non-US dollar currency positions.
The fund is targeted to affluent and high net worth individuals, as the product is exclusively available to HSBC Premier clients only, according to the statement. In the Philippines, HSBC Premier clients include those that can maintain a total relationship balance of PHP 3m ($61,686) or those that have a monthly salary of at least PHP 300,000, according to the bank’s website.
Allianz PNB also offers other funds that invest in products managed by Allianz Global Investors, including the Allianz Global Sustainability Fund and the Allianz Asian Multi Income Plus Fund, according to the firm’s website.
Allianz PNB was created when both firms entered into a strategic partnership in 2016, in which Allianz acquired 51% of PNB Life Insurance, which is the life insurance subsidiary of PNB, according to a statement at the time.
PNB is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, with at least 600 branches in the country, according to the firm’s website.
Separately, Sun Life Asset Management in the Philippines also recently launched an offering that provides domestic investors exposure to a global equity ETF managed by State Street Global Advisors.
The Pimco GIS – Diversified Income Fund versus its benchmark index
