Manulife launches fund-linked product

Insurer Manulife Philippines has unveiled a new life-protection product linked to an equity fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of top companies with Filipino-Chinese heritage.

Manulife recently launched the Emperor Fund, a peso equity fund that invests in a portfolio of companies that “execute on strong business models and are of Filipino-Chinese heritage.”

“Companies with a Sino-Filipino heritage are well liked by investors here. These companies tend to deliver a track record of outperformance over the Philippine Stock Exchange index historically. As a customer-centric investment product, the Emperor Fund invests primarily in companies within this group that boast strong business acumen, prudent management philosophy and exceptional leadership,” said Ryan Charland, president and chief executive of Manulife Philippines.

The Emperor Fund provides customers with access to stocks of leading companies of Filipino-Chinese heritage within banking, food and beverage, industrial, real estate, energy, utilities and telecommunications sectors. It also invests in other local small-to-mid-cap companies that are deemed as “emerging” market leaders.

The new fund seeks to leverage the high growth potential of these rapidly expanding companies and provides greater diversification and risk-return tradeoff.

“With the Emperor Fund, our customers will gain more access to growth-oriented investments driven by companies with relentless entrepreneurial spirit, while also enjoying the benefits of our life insurance solutions,” Charland added.

The Emperor Fund is available through most of Manulife Philippines’ regular-pay and single-pay variable life products. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA