KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 29): Sophisticated investors who wish to participate in the long-term growth potential of smaller capitalisation companies in the Asia Pacific can do so now via the Manulife Asian Small Cap Equity fund, a new Asian small cap equity unit trust by Manulife Asset Management Services Bhd.

Sophisticated investors, according to Manulife Asset Management chief executive officer Wong Boon Choy, refers to investors with a personal net assets value exceeding RM3 million.

“Unlike our other equity funds, which cater for the retail market, this particular fund is a wholesale fund meaning it's only meant for sophisticated investors, or in other words investors with personal net assets of more than RM3 million,” he told a news conference in conjunction with the fund’s introduction today.

The Manulife Asian Small Cap Equity Fund is a feeder fund that invests in a target fund, the Manulife Global Fund-Asian Small Cap Equity Fund, which is managed out of Hong Kong by Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Ltd.

The launch of the fund follows the integration of Manulife Asset Management Services Bhd with MAAKL Mutual Bhd last year, and as part of this combination, the companies are committed to bringing a broader spectrum of offshore equity, fixed income and asset allocation solutions to local investors.

The fund gives sophisticated Malaysian investors access to potential hidden gems among over 14,000 companies listed on exchanges across the Asia Pacific region, of which the vast majority are small or mid cap.

Small and mid-cap companies, according to Manulife, are those companies across the Asia Pacific region with market capitalisation of US$3 billion, or less.

Manulife Asset Management Services Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Holdings Bhd (fundamental: 0.3; valuation: 2.1).

Manulife Holdings shares were trading up 2 sen, or 0.66% this afternoon with a market capitalisation of RM613.18 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)