Manulife Singapore seeks to provide regular income for retirement needs

Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund targets to pay a dividend of 3.6 cents per unit per annum to investors.

According to a release, Manulife Singapore launched the Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund that provides investors with a regular income stream. This is the first Fund for an investment-linked plan (ILP) in the Singapore market to provide a regular monthly income catering to retirement needs and other financial objectives.

The Fund targets to pay a dividend of 3.6 cents (SGD) per unit per annum or 0.3 cents (SGD) per unit per month. The income paying platform leverages on the strong fundamentals of the Singapore economy as well as its growth potential as an Asian hub participating in the region’s strong growth. Singapore has attributes of a prime investment
landscape as it proved to be resilient by retaining a ‘AAA’ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s and achieved 4.9 percent economic growth last year despite the tough global economic climate in 2011.

Singapore is among the fastest ageing societies in the world. The proportion of elderly residents i.e. aged 65 and above is growing faster than the resident population. The proportion of elderly residents increased from 6 per cent in 1990 to 9.3 per cent in 2011.  Life expectancy is also increasing and according to statistics, for life expectancy at age 65, males can live on average up to age 83 and females up to age 87.

“As a whole many Singaporeans do not have a well-structured retirement portfolio to provide a regular stream of income. With the Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund, consumers will now have a fund to build a regular flow of income,” said Ms Annette King, President & CEO of Manulife Singapore.

The Fund seeks to provide medium to long term capital appreciation and income by primarily investing 60% into the Manulife Singapore Bond Fund and 40% into the Manulife Singapore Equity Fund both of which are managed by Manulife Asset Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. This balanced portfolio approach is designed to cushion the impact of market volatility.

“The Fund is a balanced portfolio that invests in both Singapore bonds and equities. It has the flexibility to actively allocate between these two asset classes, aiming to strike a balance between achieving stable returns from the bond market while still giving investors access to the long term growth potential of the equity market,” said Mr Pang Cheng Duan, Singapore - Manulife Singapore today launched the Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund that provides investors with a regular income stream. This is the first Fund for an investment-linked plan (ILP) in the Singapore market to provide a regular monthly income catering to retirement needs and other financial objectives.