Manulife Singapore Opportunities Income Fund
Stepping into Singapore's hidden gems
Why Singapore equities
Performance relative to global and regional equities1
Singapore equities' performance compares favourably with their global and regional peers over 1, 3 and 5-year periods, demonstrating their potential over the medium and long term.
Lack of sell-side coverage presents opportunities2
There are more than 150 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange, with a market capitalisation between SGD 100 million and SGD 1 billion; yet on average, only one analyst covers them. We believe a well-resourced on-the-ground team may be able to find opportunities in this space, which is not well covered by the street.
There is wide performance divergence in the small and mid-cap (SMID) space3
The best and worst performing SMID stocks on the Singapore Exchange, over different time periods, showed wide divergence in returns. An active and well-resourced manager can help mitigate risk in the space, through a rigorous and disciplined investment approach that combines fundamental bottom-up research with top-down analysis.
Why Manulife Singapore Opportunities Income Fund
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Dedicated, experienced Singapore equities team4 - Average 18 years of industry experience
- Long track record of investing in the SMID space
- Experience in managing Singapore equities dating back to 2007
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Proven track record5 - The team's Singapore Core Alpha Equity Composite outperformed the MSCI Singapore Index in seven out of the past ten years
- Capture upside and protect on the downside – key to consistent outperformance
- Top quartile information ratio over 1, 3, 5, 7-year periods (since lead portfolio manager joined)
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All-cap approach with dynamic allocation Ability to capture mispriced opportunities across all market caps
Seek to maximise returns through SMID allocations during favourable market conditions
Flexibility to pivot into defensive large caps in down markets
Portfolio managers
Kenneth Ong
Head of Equities, Singapore
Based in Singapore, Kenneth leads the Singapore equities team and oversees Manulife Investment Management's Singapore equity portfolios.
Kenneth brings more than 17 years of experience, including portfolio management experience serving both institutional and retail clients. Prior to joining Manulife, he spent 15 years at Lion Global Investment Management, most recently as portfolio manager for its Singapore Equity Strategies. Before that, Kenneth spent nearly 3 years at GuocoLand Group in investment and corporate planning.
Kenneth holds a B.A. in Political Economy and BSc. Mechanical Engineering from the University of California Berkeley.
Derrick Heng, CFA
Director, Portfolio Manager, Equities
Based in Singapore, Derrick is part of the investment team responsible for Singapore equities and Asia Pacific REIT mandates.
Derrick has more than 14 years of investment experience, holding previous roles such as the deputy head of research at Phillip Securities Research and vice president at Maybank Kim Eng Research. Prior to joining Manulife Investments in 2022, he was with Macquarie Capital Securities, where he was the team lead for Singapore real estate equities and coordinator for Asia Pacific thematic research.
Derrick holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) and an Executive Certificate in Real Estate Finance from the National University of Singapore, and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Why Manulife Investments
Manulife Investments is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than 150 years of financial stewardship to partner with clients across our institutional, retail, and retirement businesses globally.
Our specialist approach to money management includes the highly differentiated strategies of our fixed-income, specialised equity, multi-asset solutions, and private markets teams—along with access to specialised, unaffiliated asset managers from around the world through our multimanager model.
Our personalised, data-driven approach to retirement is focused on delivering financial wellness in retirement plans of all sizes to help plan participants and members retire with dignity. As of 31 December 2025, Manulife Investments’ assets under management and administration globally were approximately CAD 1.3 trillion.
Worldwide reach6
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750+ investment professionals worldwide -
$1.3 trillion in assets under management and administration globally -
Offices in 20 geographies worldwide
Key distributors
The Fund is available through banks, e-platforms, insurance companies and financial advisors.
To learn more about the fund, please contact one of our distribution partners listed below.
- Source: Bloomberg, as of 31 Dec 2025. Performance in USD. Europe is represented by the Euro Stoxx 50 Index; Singapore by FTSE ST All Share Index; Asia ex Japan by MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index; Japan by Nikkei 225 Index; US by S&P 500 Index; ASEAN by MSCI ASEAN Index.
- Source: Bloomberg, as of 31 Dec 2025.
- Source: Manulife Investments, FactSet, as of 31 Dec 2025. SMID stocks are defined as stocks with a market cap under SGD 9 billion during the periods indicated, within the FTSE ST All Shares Index. Performance greater than one year is annualised.
- Source: Manulife Investments, as of 31 Dec 2025.
- Source: Manulife Investments, Morningstar, eVestment, as of 31 Dec 2025. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Gross performance results do not reflect the deduction of investment management fees and are net of commissions and foreign withholding tax. Net performance results reflect the application of the highest incremental rate of the standard investment advisory fee schedule to gross performance results. Changes in exchange rates may have an adverse effect. Actual fees may vary depending on, among other things, the applicable fee schedule and portfolio size.
- Source: Manulife Investments, as of 31 Dec 2025.
Manager of the Fund: Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (“Manulife”) (Company Registration Number: 200709952G). The information provided herein does not constitute financial advice, an offer or recommendation with respect to the Fund. Opinions, forecasts and estimates on the economy, financial markets or economic trends of the markets mentioned herein are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the Fund. The Fund may use financial derivative instruments for efficient portfolio management and/or hedging.
Investments in the Fund are not deposits in, guaranteed or insured by the Manager and involve risks. Past performance of the manager or sub-manager is not necessarily indicative of its future performance. The value of units in the Fund and any income accruing to them may fall or rise. Past performance of the Fund is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Investors should read the prospectus, and seek advice from a financial adviser before deciding whether to purchase units in the Fund. A copy of the prospectus and the product highlights sheet can be obtained from Manulife or its distributors. In the event an investor chooses not to seek advice from a financial adviser, he should consider whether the Fund is suitable for him.
Distributions are not guaranteed. Investors should refer to the prospectus for the distribution policy of the Fund. The Manager shall have the absolute discretion to determine whether a distribution is to be made in respect of the Fund as well as the rate and frequency of distributions to be made. Distributions may be made out of (a) income, or (b) net realized gains, or (c) capital of the Fund, or (d) any combination of (a), (b) and/or (c). Past distribution yields and payments are not necessarily indicative of future distribution yields and payments. Any payment of distributions by the Fund is expected to result in an immediate decrease in the net asset value per unit of the Fund.
This advertisement or publication has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
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