Manulife US Reit nestled in a sweet spot, says its manager

IN her earliest memories, bedtime stories for Jillian Smith were less about whimsical fables or enchanting tales, and more to do with equity markets, share prices, and the salmon-pink pages of the Financial Times (FT).

"When I was eight, my usual bedtime reading with my father involved poring over pages of the FT and checking stock prices," recalled Ms Smith, CEO of Manulife US Real Estate Management Pte Ltd, the manager of Manulife US Reit.

The Reit (real estate investment trust), which made its trading debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) about six months ago, is the first pure-play US office Reit to list in Singapore and Asia.

Ms Smith's initiation into the world of investing took place against the backdrop of her grandfather's riches-to-rags s…