Manulife Investment Management (Ireland) Limited, has been authorised as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM), enabling it to provide management company services to alternative investment funds (AIFs) in accordance with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).
The authorisation enables the passporting and sale of private markets funds to professional investors across the European Economic Area, and is a major milestone in driving the expansion and offering of Manulife Investment Management’s private markets investment capabilities within Europe.
With more than EUR98 billion in private markets assets globally, Manulife Investment Management’s capabilities are offered across private equity and credit, real estate, infrastructure, timberland, and agriculture to institutional and high-net-worth clients.
“Achieving this license is a critical milestone to further extend the reach of our global private markets business and is a strategic opportunity for European investors seeking access to the diversification and the potential benefits of private asset exposures,” says Paul R Lorentz, president & CEO, Manulife Investment Management.
Andrew G Arnott, head of wealth and asset management, Manulife Investment Management, United States and Europe, adds: “According to ESMA, the European AIF segment is nearly EUR5.8 trillion – or 40 per cent of the total EU fund industry. The AIFM authorisation further demonstrates our commitment to expanding investment options for clients in the region in a market where demand continues to grow.”
Manulife Investment Management will offer these capabilities across Europe with an initial focus on Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
“Manulife Investment Management offers European investors one of the most diverse sets of private market capabilities in the industry with investment expertise in private equity, private credit and real assets,” says Stephen J Blewitt, global head of private markets, Manulife Investment Management. “We are seeing an increased demand for private assets due to the continued low yield environment and we are focused on meeting the needs of investors who may want to take advantage of our decades of experience managing illiquid assets.”
Manulife Investment Management has recently hired two new roles which, in addition to its existing global team, help to support the expansion of its private markets offering. Christoph Schumacher, global head of real assets, and Alex Catterick, global head of high-net-worth strategy for private markets, were onboarded to build strategy, and manage the development, launch and growth of new products designed for investors interested in private assets.
Across Europe, Manulife Investment Management has a team of more than 75 investment, product, operations, risk, marketing and distribution and compliance professionals in Copenhagen, Dublin, London, and Zurich.
