Aberdeen Asset Management launches 5 new funds in Singapore

ABERDEEN Asset Management has launched five new funds simultaneously for sale to the public in Singapore, some of which are the group's first multi-asset funds here.

The five funds are also the group's first Luxembourg-domiciled funds to be available direct to retail investors in Singapore, under the Monetary Authority of Singapore's recognised scheme, the asset manager said in a release on Wednesday.

The new funds invest in areas such as catastrophe bonds, aircraft leasing and corporate loans. These are typically accessed via closed-end structures.

The five funds are: Aberdeen Global - Australian Dollar Income Bond Fund; Aberdeen Global - Multi Asset Growth Fund; Aberdeen Global - Multi Asset Income Fund; Aberdeen Global - North American Smaller Companies Fund; and Aberdeen Global - Select Emerging Markets Bond Fund.

For the multi-asset funds, Aberdeen foresees continued demand for yield and new sources of return. This comes amid mixed signals in markets over the effect of a potential roll-back in quantitative easing and rising interest rates.

Mike Brooks will be in overall charge of the strategies, heading a team of five in Edinburgh.

Working alongside him will be Irene Goh - the group's head of multi-asset solutions for the Asia-Pacific - who has been building local teams to manage regional assets.

Aberdeen's multi-asset division globally has a team of 60 investment professionals, with approximately US$113.2 billion in multi-asset mandates as at March 31, 2017.

The group manages assets of US$385.2 billion on behalf of institutional and private investors as at March 31, 2017.