A new fund that offers access to the Asian bond market growth story but also helps to manage investment and currency risk has earned MFC Global Investment Management the 2009 “Best of the Best” Regional Award for Most Innovative Product in Taiwan from Asia Asset Management.In addition to the local award, MFC Global Investment Management (Asia) also won the “Best of the Best” Regional Award for CEO of the Year.
In 2009, Manulife Asset Management (Taiwan) Company Ltd, part of MFC Global Investment Management, launched the Manulife Asia Pacific Bond Fund. MFC Global Investment Management believes that Asia’s bond markets have emerged as a stand-alone and attractive asset class in their own right, and supports that conviction with products dedicated to that proposition.
Tan Lee Hock, publisher of Asia Asset Management magazine and chairman of the judging panel said: "We are delighted to award Manulife Asset Management Taiwan with the 'Most Innovative Product' award for their Asia Pacific Bond Fund. The fund is the first New Taiwan Dollar-denominated high grade bond fund investing in the Asian Pacific region to be made available to the Taiwan market. Prior to the fund launch, fixed income investors in Taiwan were limited to investing in either local currency bond funds or US dollar-denominated offshore bond funds which exposed them to significant currency risk. The judges agreed that the launch of the Manulife Asia Pacific Bond Fund is a major step forward for the market because it offers Taiwanese investors an alternative to low yielding local currency bonds, access to Asia’s booming bond markets but with the currency risk already hedged."
As well as being a brand new type of local currency fund to invest in offshore bonds, the Manulife Asia Pacific Bond Fund is also the first fund of its kind in Taiwan to offer dividend distribution – allowing investors to choose to either reinvest dividends or to take them as income. This means the fund provides a viable alternative to bank deposits by offering the kind of short-term yield that would normally only be available through a 10-year Taiwanese bond.
The Most Innovative Product award recognizes MFC Global Investment Management’s outstanding expertise in new product development in asset management in Asia, from a relatively new brand in the region to a market leader.
Brian Hsieh, General Management of Manulife Asset Management, Taiwan said: “Key to earning the award was our core belief that a clear product positioning was crucial so that our clients could clearly understand the risks and the values of our product. This is why we invested heavily in an expansive investor education program. In addition to branch education events and investor forums, a core part of our strategy was to raise investors’ awareness of the fixed income asset class and to demonstrate the value of Asian bonds as part of a well-diversified portfolio.”
Andrew Wang, Chief Investment Officer of Manulife Asset Management, Taiwan said: “The rigorous bottom-up approach of our regional and local team in analyzing individual credits enables us to select undervalued names with reasonable risk exposure. The teams cover a wide range of sectors in credit, interest rate, and currency across the region, and they can consistently act on their convictions related to the fund.”
The award will be presented at an awards ceremony in Hong Kong on March 11, 2010.
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About Manulife Asset Management Taiwan
Manulife Asset Management (Taiwan) Company Ltd. was licensed in 1998 and became a member of Manulife Financial in Oct. 2008. MAM(T) issues and manages independently mutual funds, and also handles discretionary trust investment business in Taiwan. Distribution networks include banks, brokers, and insurance companies, and also direct sales and discretionary trust investment business.
About MFC Global Investment Management
MFC Global Investment Management® is the asset management division of Manulife Financial. MFC Global Investment Management’s diversified group of companies provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors, investment funds and individuals in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as oil and gas, real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.
MFC Global Investment Management has investment offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout Asia. Additional information about MFC Global Investment Management may be found at www.mfcglobal.com.
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