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.