Allianz Global Investors and Manulife form strategic alliance on MPF business in Hong Kong
23/11/2020
Manulife to become sponsor of Allianz Global Investors MPF Plan, further solidifying its market leadership, while AllianzGI stays committed to MPF market as investment manager.
HONG KONG – Allianz Global Investors Asia Pacific Limited (“AllianzGI”) and Manulife (International) Limited (“Manulife”) today jointly announced a strategic alliance for their Mandatory Provident Fund (“MPF”) businesses. Through this alliance, Manulife will become the sponsor of Allianz Global Investors MPF Plan (the “Scheme”), subject to regulatory approvals, while AllianzGI continues to be the Scheme’s investment manager and to provide offerings in Manulife’s multi-manager MPF platform with its global investment expertise.
The alliance will enable Manulife to further solidify its No.1 position as the unparalleled scheme sponsor and product provider in the Hong Kong MPF market1 . Inclusive of AllianzGI’s market share, Manulife would be leading the market with a share of 25.6%2 based on assets under management as at September 30, 2020.
Damien Green, Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau, said: “We are excited about our alliance with AllianzGI, which reinforces our commitment to the development of Hong Kong’s MPF industry. We look forward to providing top-notch customer experience for AllianzGI’s MPF clients. With our wealth of 84 years of pension management experience and as one of the leading players in the MPF market since its launch 20 years ago, we are relentlessly innovating to meet the evolving pre- and post retirement needs of the Hong Kong population.”
Desmond Ng, Head of Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors, said: “We are confident that this alliance will benefit clients of both AllianzGI and Manulife in the long run. Since the inception of the MPF system 20 years ago, AllianzGI has been committed to providing Hong Kong people with high quality MPF services and offerings. With our expertise in active asset management, we will continue to seek more meaningful results to our MPF clients and to contribute to the development of Hong Kong pension market, as it is our core proposition to generate long term value for our clients in Hong Kong.”
Under the strategic alliance, the sponsorship of the Scheme will be transferred to Manulife, and AllianzGI will remain focused on leveraging its core strength as a global active asset manager to provide investment solutions to the Scheme. This allows existing AllianzGI’s MPF clients to remain invested in their funds, and, at the same time, gain access to Manulife’s full suite of professional customer support and comprehensive digital services.
Michael Dommermuth, Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, Manulife Investment Management, said: “We are very pleased to see the growth of our retirement business in Asia, and are particularly excited to become the largest MPF product provider1 in Hong Kong. This move aligns with our commitment to offering an extensive range of fund choices that can best serve the different investment appetites and deliver great value to all MPF clients. Our managed architecture featuring robust manager selection capability ensures we provide quality investment choices from Manulife Investment Management and third-party fund providers.”
Philip Tso, Head of Institutional Business, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors, said:“Our MPF business has been a success since its launch, with our company gaining market recognition over time in this space for our services and fund choices. We are delighted that AllianzGI, as a most reliable partner, will now help Manulife accelerate its growth in the retirement market. Dedicated to the Hong Kong market, we will remain proactive and highly engaged in helping our clients reach their retirement goals, and in sharing our thoughts and ideas for a more prominent pension system in Hong Kong.”
Manulife will continue to innovate and enhance its MPF services to elevate the customer experience. Its new ecosystem with user-friendly digital services will help AllianzGI’s MPF clients make their decisions in retirement planning easier and more efficiently. Meanwhile, AllianzGI will be dedicated to providing investment insights and generating long term value for investors.
The alliance also demonstrates both companies’ long term commitment to the Hong Kong MPF system and their determination to help and protect Hong Kong’s working population with their retirement savings. Enhanced customers’ experience and product proposition through this collaboration allow the two companies to continue their contributions to the further development of the MPF market.
The change of scheme sponsorship is subject to the regulatory approvals.
(From left) Mr. Raymond Ng, Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits, Manulife Hong Kong; Mr. Calvin Chiu, Senior Managing Director, Head of Asia Retirement, Manulife Investment Management; Mr. Michael Dommermuth, Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, Manulife Investment Management; Mr. Damien Green, Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau; Mr. Desmond Ng, Head of Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors; Mr. Philip Tso, Head of Institutional Business, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors; Mr. Raymond Chan, CIO Equity, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors; Ms. Tammy Tan, Head of Business Management, Asia Pacific, Allianz Global Investors celebrate the start of the strategic alliance.
1 Based on market share in terms of assets under management by scheme sponsor or product provider (as the case may be). Source: Mercer MPF Market Shares Report as at September 30, 2020.
2 Market share is measured by share of assets under management by scheme sponsor. Percentage figures are rounded to nearest one decimal place. Source: Mercer MPF Market Shares Report as at September 30, 2020.