Manulife AM seeks unique solutions to address income gap in retirement

A LOOMING retirement income gap in Asia is driving Manulife Asset Management (AM) towards innovative solutions that may include exposure to private assets such as timber and farmland.

Michael Dommermuth, the firm's executive vice-president and head of wealth and asset management for Asia, said that a typical asset management company would push mutual funds as "the first and last solution" to the growing need for income. "Mutual funds are important, but they can only go so far. Our approach is to be much more agnostic as to the form in which we develop the solution."

Manulife AM has around US$343 billion in assets under management at end-2016. The Asia-Pacific accounts for some US$110 billion. The firm has sought to inject a liability-driven investment approach towards retirement solutions. In this approach, typically used by institutions and pension funds, managers seek to align portfolio exposures and weights towards future objectives, whether it's a stream of income or asset growth.