Manulife and Allianz Global Investors form strategic alliance on MPF business in Hong Kong
Manulife to become sponsor of Allianz Global Investors MPF Plan, further solidifying its market leadership, while AllianzGI stays committed to MPF market as investment manager
For Immediate Release
November 23, 2020
TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945
Hong Kong – Manulife (International) Limited (“Manulife”) and Allianz Global Investors Asia Pacific Limited (“AllianzGI”) today jointly announced a strategic alliance for their Mandatory Provident Fund (“MPF”) businesses. Through this alliance, Manulife will become the sponsor of Allianz Global Investors MPF Plan (the “Scheme”), subject to regulatory approvals, while AllianzGI continues to be the Scheme’s investment manager and to provide offerings in Manulife’s multi-manager MPF platform with its global investment expertise.
The alliance will enable Manulife to further solidify its No.1 position as the unparalleled scheme sponsor and product provider in the Hong Kong MPF market１ . Inclusive of AllianzGI’s market share, Manulife would be leading the market with a share of 25.6%２ based on assets under management as at September 30, 2020.
Damien Green, Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau, said: “We are excited about our alliance with AllianzGI, which reinforces our commitment to the development of Hong Kong’s MPF industry. We look forward to providing top-notch customer experience for AllianzGI’s MPF clients. With our wealth of 84 years of pension management experience and as one of the leading players in the MPF market since its launch 20 years ago, we are relentlessly innovating to meet the evolving pre- and post retirement needs of the Hong Kong population.”
Desmond Ng, Head of Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors, said: “We are confident that this alliance will benefit clients of both AllianzGI and Manulife in the long run. Since the inception of the MPF system 20 years ago, AllianzGI has been committed to providing Hong Kong people with high quality MPF services and offerings. With our expertise in active asset management, we will continue to seek more meaningful results to our MPF clients and to contribute to the development of Hong Kong pension market, as it is our core proposition to generate long term value for our clients in Hong Kong.”
Under the strategic alliance, the sponsorship of the Scheme will be transferred to Manulife, and AllianzGI will remain focused on leveraging its core strength as a global active asset manager to provide investment solutions to the Scheme. This allows existing AllianzGI’s MPF clients to remain invested in their funds, and, at the same time, gain access to Manulife’s full suite of professional customer support and comprehensive digital services.
Michael Dommermuth, Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, Manulife Investment Management, said: “We are very pleased to see the growth of our retirement business in Asia, and are particularly excited to become the largest MPF product provider1 in Hong Kong. This move aligns with our commitment to offering an extensive range of fund choices that can best serve the different investment appetites and deliver great value to all MPF clients. Our managed architecture featuring robust manager selection capability ensures we provide quality investment choices from Manulife Investment Management and third-party fund providers.”
Philip Tso, Head of Institutional Business, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors, said: “Our MPF business has been a success since its launch, with our company gaining market recognition over time in this space for our services and fund choices. We are delighted that AllianzGI, as a most reliable partner, will now help Manulife accelerate its growth in the retirement market. Dedicated to the Hong Kong market, we will remain proactive and highly engaged in helping our clients reach their retirement goals, and in sharing our thoughts and ideas for a more prominent pension system in Hong Kong.”
Manulife will continue to innovate and enhance its MPF services to elevate the customer experience. Its new ecosystem with user-friendly digital services will help AllianzGI’s MPF clients make their decisions in retirement planning easier and more efficiently. Meanwhile, AllianzGI will be dedicated to providing investment insights and generating long term value for investors.
The alliance also demonstrates both companies’ long term commitment to the Hong Kong MPF system and their determination to help and protect Hong Kong’s working population with their retirement savings. Enhanced customers’ experience and product proposition through this collaboration allow the two companies to continue their contributions to the further development of the MPF market.
The change of scheme sponsorship is subject to the regulatory approvals.
(From left) Mr. Raymond Ng, Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits, Manulife Hong Kong; Mr. Calvin Chiu, Senior Managing Director, Head of Asia Retirement, Manulife Investment Management; Mr. Michael Dommermuth, Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, Manulife Investment Management; Mr. Damien Green, Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau; Mr. Desmond Ng, Head of Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors; Mr. Philip Tso, Head of Institutional Business, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors; Mr. Raymond Chan, CIO Equity, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors; Ms. Tammy Tan, Head of Business Management, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors celebrate the start of the strategic alliance.
About Manulife Hong Kong
Manulife Hong Kong, through Manulife International Holdings Limited, owns Manulife (International) Limited, Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited and Manulife Provident Funds Trust Company Limited. As a member of the Manulife group of companies, Manulife Hong Kong offers a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individual and corporate customers in Hong Kong and Macau.
About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We’re committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.
As of September 30, 2020, Manulife Investment Management had CAD$923 billion (US$692 billion) in assets under management and administration. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of September 30, 2020, we had C$1.3 trillion (HK$7.5 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $31.2 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.
About Allianz Global Investors
Allianz Global Investors is a leading active asset manager with 754 investment professionals in 25 offices worldwide and managing EUR 546 billion in assets *for individuals, families and institutions.
Active is the most important word in our vocabulary. Active is how we create and share value with clients. We believe in solving, not selling, and in adding value beyond pure economic gain. We invest for the long term, employing our innovative investment expertise and global resources. Our goal is to ensure a superior experience for our clients, wherever they are based and whatever their investment needs.
Active is: Allianz Global Investors
*Source: Allianz Global Investors. Data as at 30 September 2020
Disclaimers
The above is for informational purposes only. This is not an advertisement nor invitations to invest. This does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security and shall not be deemed an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security /participate in any MPF schemes. Investing involves risk. The value of an investment and the income from it will fluctuate and investors may not get back the principal invested.The above has not been reviewed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
This press release is issued by Allianz Global Investors Asia Pacific Limited and Manulife (International) Limited.
Notes:
1 Based on market share in terms of assets under management by scheme sponsor or product provider (as the case may be). Source: Mercer MPF Market Shares Report as at September 30, 2020.
2 Market share is measured by share of assets under management by scheme sponsor. Percentage figures are rounded to nearest one decimal place. Source: Mercer MPF Market Shares Report as at September 30, 2020.
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