Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corp. is expanding its Philippine investment lineup with a global equity fund designed to give investors income potential while keeping a foothold in long-term growth across international markets.
The Manulife Global Equity Diversified Income Feeder Fund comes as more Filipino investors look for ways to generate regular income without giving up exposure to equities, particularly amid persistent market volatility and shifting economic conditions.
Manulife Investments Philippines said its Asia Care Survey 2026 found that 49 percent of Filipinos who have started saving and investing for their financial well-being plan to shift toward income-generating investments.
The new fund uses a diversified equity-income strategy combining growth companies, income-generating stocks, preferred shares, and options-based strategies. The approach is intended to spread potential sources of returns while giving the portfolio greater flexibility across different market environments.
“As investors navigate greater market uncertainty and an increasingly complex investment landscape, many are looking for investment solutions that can help them access global opportunities while managing risk in a more diversified way,” Manulife Investments Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Aira Gaspar said.
The options component is particularly notable because it seeks to generate additional income from market volatility, rather than simply treating price swings as a risk to be avoided.
Gaspar said the fund is designed to combine global growth opportunities with multiple sources of potential returns and options-based strategies that can help turn volatility into an additional income stream.
The fund is the latest addition to Manulife Investments Philippines’ unit investment trust fund offerings, giving local investors another route to international equities without having to build a global portfolio directly.
Investors can access the fund with a minimum investment of USD1,000 or P1,000 through the Manulife iFUNDS digital platform.
The launch reflects a broader shift in investor preferences toward portfolios that balance growth with cash-flow potential. For Filipino savers, the appeal may lie less in chasing the highest returns and more in building portfolios that can keep generating income while markets move through different cycles.
