KUALA LUMPUR: Manulife Investment Management (M) Bhd (MIM) today launched the Manulife Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund that enables investors in Malaysia to reap the benefits of Asia's long-term structural growth.

The fund currently invests mainly in equities of Asia Pacific-based companies, including Japan and Australia, leading players in their industries and key contributors to the four megatrends, namely technology, healthcare and medical, industrials and consumption via Allianz Oriental Income fund.

The fund will invest at least 95 per cent of its net asset value into the Allianz Oriental Income fund. This Morningstar 5-star rated fund is actively managed by Allianz Global Investors GmbH (AGI).

Allianz Oriental Income fund aims to outperform the MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific Total Return (Net) over the long term, achieving a 10-15 per cent per annum return on average.

Data from Bloomberg shows the Allianz Oriental Income fund has consistently outperformed its benchmark since inception, with a cumulative return of 309 per cent, while the MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific Total Return (Net) recorded a return of 158 per cent.

MIM chief executive officer Jason Chong said technology, healthcare and medical, industrials and consumption are the key themes shaping the world.

"We see the investment opportunities from this structural growth to be even more prevalent in Asia.

"For instance, Japan stands out in the technology and industrial sectors, given the country's strong focus on semiconductor inspection system, manufacturer of automation systems and robots, while China and Australia lead other Asian countries in the healthcare sector given the development of their innovations around medical technology and pharmaceutical science.

"Each country in Asia stands out for its unique capabilities and geographical advantages, and hence it's important to identify the right opportunities through thorough fundamental research risk analysis," he said in a statement today.

Leveraging AGI's research platforms, strong local presence and proximity to companies and markets around Asia, the Allianz Oriental Income fund focuses on Asia Pacific companies that demonstrate potential upside on growth, quality, and valuation and takes a benchmark unconstrained approach to allocate across countries and sectors flexibly.

It can also potentially provide downside protection through investing in fixed income or cash during volatile market conditions.

MIM head of retail wealth distribution Ng Chze How said as the global economy continues to recover and major indices around the world plateauing, MIM believe the broad Asian equity universe has vast potential for investors in Malaysia.

"However, it takes an experienced investment team to discover the most appropriate themes and ideas that can help investors capture growth opportunities whilst maintaining a diversified portfolio that can withstand the test of time.

"By focusing on reasonably valued companies with growth potential, particularly underfollowed small and mid-cap stocks across Asia, we believe the new fund can provide the type of stable long term returns that investors in Malaysia seek," he said.

Manulife Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund is suitable for investors seeking capital appreciation, having a medium to long-term investment horizon, and seeking investment exposure in the Asia Pacific region.

As of 31 August 2021, the top three markets the Allianz Oriental Income fund invests in are Japan (24.7 per cent), Taiwan (21.2 per cent) and China (14 per cent).

Sector-wise, the top three are information technology (40.6 per cent), healthcare (14.9 per cent) and industrials (14.4 per cent).

The classes that are offered for subscription by the new fund are A (US Dollar) Class, A (RM-Hedged) Class, A (AUD-Hedged) Class and A (SGD-Hedged) Class.

Manulife Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund is now available for subscription through HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd.