MANULIFE Investment Management and Trust Corp. (Manulife IM Philippines) announced on Monday it has lowered its minimum investment amount for all its funds from P5,000 ($92.33 at current exchange rates) to P1,000 ($18.47) starting this month, making investing in local and global Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs) even more accessible to more Filipinos.
Furthermore, Manulife said the following funds will shift from semi-annual to monthly income payouts starting August 1, 2023, allowing investors to see more frequent growth in their investments.
These investment vehicles include the firm’s “Asia Dynamic Bond Feeder Fund,” or ADBFF. This vehicle invests in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income securities issued by governments, agencies, supra-nationals, and corporate issuers located primarily in Asia, Manulife IM said. It added the ADBFF aims to generate income by seeking to derive benefits from the interest rate, credit, and currency opportunities within a risk-controlled investment approach.
Another vehicle is the firm’s “Global Preferred Income Feeder Fund,” or GPIFF, which “aims to provide regular income distribution and long-term capital growth by investing in preferred securities listed or traded in any regulated market worldwide.”
Preferred securities are known for sharing similar features with stocks and bonds, enabling investors to experience the best of both worlds. At the same time, their performance has historically shown a “low correlation” relative to stocks or bonds, meaning preferred securities can still offer attractive gains even when returns on other asset classes are declining, according to Manulife IM.
A third investment vehicle is the firm’s “Global Multi-Asset Diversified Income Feeder Fund,” or GMDIFF, which targets to generate income through a wide range of traditional and non-traditional assets and a flexible investment strategy that seeks to provide a buffer against challenging market conditions across different regions.
Another vehicle is the firm’s “Global REIT Feeder Fund,” which invests in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed and traded globally and in real estate securities and/or cash and cash equivalents. REITs typically generate stable rental income, offering attractive dividend options for investors. Even in the face of high-interest rates, REITs tend to outperform other investments.
Manulife’s Asia Pacific REIT Fund of Funds, which invests in a diversified portfolio of exchange-listed REITs in the Asia Pacific region, will continue to have semi-annual payouts but will have a lowered minimum investment amount of PhP1,000 starting March 2023.
Manulife IM said in a statement that Investors can receive their monthly income payouts through credit to their bank accounts or arrange for them to be topped up to their funds so these can grow further over time. Income payouts lower than P100 or $20 will be automatically reinvested into investors’ respective funds to enable them to earn more income over time.