Manulife REIT fund expands into infrastructure, natural resources

Manulife Investments Philippines has converted its Global Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Feeder Fund into a diversified multi-asset unit investment trust fund (UITF), expanding its investment mandate beyond real estate to include listed infrastructure, natural resources equities and US Treasury inflation-protected securities.

In a statement, the asset management arm of Manulife said it launched the Global Diversified Real Asset Feeder Fund, with the transition from the original fund starting on Oct. 15. The new fund has a minimum investment of $1,000 or P1,000.

The transition is expected to be completed by end-October. As of end-August, Manulife said the original fund had P229.66 million in assets under management before the transition.

“By bringing together complementary sources of income, growth and inflation resilience within a single, professionally managed portfolio, the fund provides investors with a differentiated approach to pursuing long-term wealth accumulation across market cycles,” Manulife said.

Manulife said several structural trends are increasing demand for real assets, including artificial intelligence, digitalization, infrastructure modernization, supply chain reconfiguration and the energy transition.

Similar to the original fund, the new fund will still invest 10 percent to 45 percent of its portfolio in global REITs, with additional exposure to infrastructure and natural resources.

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“The Manulife Global Diversified Real Asset Feeder Fund brings together a broad range of global real asset opportunities into a single professionally managed solution, giving investors convenient access to asset classes that may otherwise be difficult to build and manage independently,” said Aira Gaspar, president and CEO of Manulife Investments Philippines.

“Through this fund, investors can participate in long-term structural trends shaping the global economy while pursuing their income and wealth-building objectives,” she added.

According to Manulife, the November 2026 income distribution will be based on October dividends from the original fund, while the December distribution will come from the new fund.