Manulife Singapore partners with its asset management counterpart in the city-state to launch a new fund product.

Manulife Singapore, the local wealth management of Canada's Manulife, has teamed up with Manulife Asset Management Singapore to launch a new Asian bond bond that invests in debt securities. 

The Manulife Asia Pacific Investment Grade Bond Fund is designed to maximise returns by investing in a portfolio of debt securities issued by governments, agencies, supra-nationals and corporate issuers in Asia-Pacific. Investors can then access the fund through a unit trust or an investment-linked policy, both of which are available under the CPF Investment Scheme and the Supplementary Retirement Scheme. They may also subscribe through cash. 

In a statement, the company said that the Singapore retail investors will benefit greatly by going beyond domestic securities-linked investments. 

"Findings from the Manulife Investors Sentiment Index released in January shows that Singaporeans' accumulated savings are not working as hard as they could be, with respondents indicating they hold 33 months of personal income in cash with three-fourths considered for savings purposes. These savings generate little or no return and lose buying power after inflation," said Annette King, president and chief executive of Manulife Singapore. 

Asia is an attractive investment destination, said the company, as the region is expected to see a 6.2 per cent rise in its gross domestic product in 2014. Manulife has a network of around 50 fixed income investment professionals across ten markets in the region.