- Discusses geopolitical factors affecting economic response
to COVID-19 across the U.S., Europe, and India
- Identifies macro trends accelerated by the pandemic,
including the increasingly desperate search for yield
- Showcases the real asset opportunities that remain and the
appetite for ESG investments
TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945
TORONTO and BOSTON, July 29,
2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Investment Management today
released its biannual Global Intelligence report,
a firmwide outlook highlighting notable perspectives from its
private and public markets investment teams - and read in nearly
200 countries. Key themes in the report include what we expect
during the stages of economic recovery, disruption within emerging
markets like India, the
opportunities for timberland assets amid expanding carbon offset
markets, the myriad challenges in addressing the pandemic's impact
on the European Union, and how emergency central bank measures have
obscured looming bond market risks.
"As the global economy recovers from the fast and dramatic
downturn experienced earlier this year, we believe market
volatility will continue and accelerate the macro trends already at
work, including an increasingly desperate search for yield,"
said Christopher P. Conkey, CFA, head of public markets at
Manulife Investment Management. "While we remain optimistic that
calmer waters lie ahead, complex risks continue to affect
investment behaviors. The latest edition of Global Intelligence
provides information to help clients assess the landscape with
clear eyes, a long-term perspective, and the support of expert
teams."
"While private markets have not been immune to the global
pandemic's economic impact, we still see nuanced opportunities to
suppress risk and improve returns on a variety of private market
assets," said Stephen J. Blewitt, head of private markets at
Manulife Investment Management. "We're helping investors find
opportunities that provide diversification, dependable cash yields,
inflation protection, and low correlations with mainstream
financial markets, as reflected in this latest report."
Notable asset class themes, shifts and guidance within Global
Intelligence include:
- "India at the crossroads of
disruption—a tipping point for growth" — Senior Portfolio
Manager Rana Gupta and Research
Analyst Koushik Pal share how the
pandemic has accelerated digitization and reconfiguration across
areas of the economy including grocery retail and durables
manufacturing.
- "Timberland Investing and the promise of carbon markets"
— Global Head of Timber Investments Thomas G. Sarno, Managing
Director of Economic Research Keith A.
Balter and Director of Forest Economics Mary Ellen Aronow discuss how timberland owners
can find a new, more diversified revenue stream as the carbon
offset market grows and ESG factors assume more significant roles
within investors' portfolios.
- "How emergency central bank measures have obscured looming
bond market risks" — Senior Portfolio Managers Roshan Thiru, CFA, and Daniel S. Janis III explore how central bank
intervention policies designed to contain market fallout have
obscured risk for fixed-income investors.
- "The three stages of the global economic recovery" —
Global Chief Economist & Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy,
Frances Donald, discusses a
three-stage recovery, each with its own set of key themes, bringing
about different kinds of opportunities and risks.
- "Assessing Europe's response to Covid-19" — Senior
Strategist Stuart Thomson, CFA, examines the state of the
geopolitical landscape in Europe
and the challenges of addressing the pandemic's impact on the
European Union.
For more information and to view the report please click
here.
About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife
Investment Management1 is the global wealth and asset
management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on
more than 150 years of financial stewardship to partner with
clients across our institutional, retail, and retirement businesses
globally. Our specialist approach to money management includes the
highly differentiated strategies of our fixed-income, specialized
equity, multi-asset solutions, and private markets teams—along with
access to specialized, unaffiliated asset managers from around the
world through our multimanager model. Our personalized, data-driven
approach to retirement is focused on delivering financial wellness
in retirement plans of all sizes to help plan participants and
members retire with dignity.
Headquartered in Toronto, we
operate as Manulife Investment Management throughout the world,
with the exception of the United
States, where the retail and retirement businesses operate
as John Hancock Investment Management and John Hancock, respectively; and in Asia and Canada, where the retirement business operates
as Manulife. Manulife Investment Management had CAD$832 billion (US$586
billion) in assets under management and administration.* Not
all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional
information, please visit our website at manulifeim.com.
* MFC financials in CAD. Global Wealth and Asset Management AUMA
as of March 31, 2020, was
$832 billion and includes
$195 billion of assets managed on
behalf of other segments and $139
billion of assets under administration.
Media Contacts: Asia, Carl
Wong, Carl_KK_Wong@ManulifeAM.com; Canada, Brooke
Tucker-Reid, Brooke_Tucker-Reid@Manulife.com; U.S. and
Europe, Elizabeth Bartlett,
Elizabeth_Bartlett@Manulife.com
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