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Important Notes:

  1. Manulife Global Fund – Preferred Securities Income Fund ("Manulife Preferred Securities Income Fund" or the "Fund") invests primarily in preferred securities listed or traded on any regulated market in the world, including preferred stocks (including convertible preferred stocks) and subordinated debt securities, which exposes investors to preferred securities risk, equity market risk, volatility and liquidity risk and currency risk.  As the Fund may carry significant exposure to US-related issuers it may expose investors to geographical concentration risk. Certain investors may also be subject to the risk relating to RMB hedged share class. 
  2. The relevant distributing class of the Fund does not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution and the amount/rate of dividends. Dividends may be paid out of income, realised capital gains and/or out of capital of the Fund in respect of Inc share class(es). Dividends may be paid out of realised capital gains, capital and/or gross income while charging all or part of their fees and expenses to capital (i.e. payment of fees and expenses out of capital) in respect of MDIST (G) and R MDIST (G) share class(es). Dividends paid out of capital of the Fund amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of the amount of an investor's original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment and may result in an immediate decrease in the net asset value per share in respect of such class(es) of the Fund.
  3. The Fund's investment in fixed income and cash and cash equivalents is subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, credit rating and downgrading risk and high-yield bonds risk.
  4. The Fund intends to use financial derivative instruments (“FDIs”) for investment, efficient portfolio management and/or hedging purposes.  The use of FDIs exposes the Fund to additional risks, including leverage risk, management risk, market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk.
  5. Investment involves risk. The Fund may expose its investors to capital loss. Investors should not make decisions based on this material alone and should read the offering document for details, including the risk factors, charges and features of the Fund and its share classes.
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What are Preferred Securities?

Issued by corporates, preferred securities rank between traditional bonds and common stocks in the capital structure of a corporate. In the event of corporate financial distress or a bankruptcy, a company's preferred securities are senior to common stock but subordinated to traditional bond.

The preferred securities issuers are usually large and highly regulated institutions and/or companies with stable cash flows such as banks, utilities, and real-estate investment trusts (REITs).

 

Priority of dividends and claims1

 

Examples of issuers1

 

Banks, insurance companies and financial services
Bank of America Corporation, HSBC Holdings, Morgan Stanley, MetLife Inc.

 

Utilities
Dominion Energy Inc., DTE Energy Company, NextEra Energy Capital Holdings Inc.

 

Others
Vodafone Group Inc., Ford Motor Company, Brunswick Corporation

 

Major advantages of Preferred Securities

A combination of quality and yield

With an average investment-grade rating, preferred securities offer yields that are comparable to high yield bonds, meaning investors could enjoy relatively high yields with lower credit risks.

 

Preferred securities are offering yields higher than 10-year average2

 

Solid historical performance

Preferreds only saw two negative calendar year return in the past decade, with strong rebound on the following year. In 2019, preferred securities registered a 18.4% return as the Fed started cutting interest rates.

 

Preferred market calendar year return (%, in USD)3

 

Downside buffer

Preferred securities are well positioned to help buffer economic slowdown as near 90% of preferred issuers are rated as investment grade and are generally well-established, high-quality companies with solid balance sheets. Historically, the default rate of preferred securities was much lower than global high yield bonds.

 

10-year average default rate4

 

Manulife Preferred Securities Income Fund

Aims to deliver consistent income plus a balanced sector positioning5

Manulife Preferred Securities Income Fund aims to offer monthly distributions with potential capital growth. Compared to broad preferred market, the Fund is more diversified, with focus on utilities, energy and financials sectors, which are better-positioned in a high inflation and low growth environment.

The Fund adopts dynamic strategies to respond to the changing macroeconomic environment by flexibly allocating into various types of preferred securities, e.g., institutional/retail, fixed-to-floating/fixed and convertible/nonconvertible. The Fund also actively manages portfolio duration in accordance with the interest rate cycle.

 

 

Dividend schedule

 

(The distribution yield is not guaranteed. Distribution may be paid out of capital. Refer to Important Note 2.)

Opportunities in Preferred Securities

Rick Baker, Client Portfolio Manager, shared his views on Preferred Securities, and how our strategy helps capture the opportunities in the asset class.

Manulife Investment Management's expertise

30+ years

investment experience by US-based lead manager

 

150+

global fixed income investment experts7

 

USD 4.9 billion

AUM in preferred securities, one of the key players in the market8

 

  1. For illustrative purposes only in relation to the ICE BofA US All Capital Securities Index's holding and may be subject to change. It does not constitute an offer or an invitation by or on behalf of Manulife Investment Management to any person to buy or sell any particular securities or investment. This material should not be viewed as a current or past recommendation or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment product or adopt any investment strategy. As of June 30, 2023.
  2. Bloomberg, as of August 31, 2024. High yield bonds are represented by ICE BofA US High Yield Index, which offered 7.55% yield to maturity. Institutional par preferred securities are represented by ICE BofA US Capital Securities Index (C0CS). Retail par preferred securities are represented by ICE BofA Core Plus Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index (P0P4). The above yield to maturity does not represent the distribution yield of the Fund and is not an accurate reflection the actual return that an investor will receive in all cases. A positive distribution yield does not imply a positive return. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
  3. Source: Morningstar, Manulife Investment Management, as of August 31, 2024. Preferred Securities represented by ICE BofA US All Capital Securities Index. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
  4. Source: Global high yield bonds are represented by ICE BofA Global High Yield Index; Preferred securities are represented by ICE BofA US All Capital Securities Index. Default rates for Global high yield bonds sourced from BofA Securities, as of July 31, 2024. Preferred default rates for preferred securities were calculated by Manulife Investment Management based on ICE BofA US All Capital Securities Index, as of August 31, 2024. Calculated annually. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
  5. For illustrative purposes only and does not represent the actual investment.
  6. Source: Manulife Investment Management, as of December 1, 2022, refers only to Class AA (USD) MDIST(G). Annualized yield = [(1+distribution per unit/ex-dividend NAV)^ distribution frequency per annum]–1, the annualized dividend yield is calculated on the basis of the latest relevant dividend distribution and dividend reinvested, and may be higher or lower than the actual annual dividend yield. Please note that dividend is not guaranteed, and a positive dividend yield does not imply a positive return. Dividend yield increases sharply due to the significant drop in NAV. Please refer to www.manulifefunds.com.hk for the historical distribution yield records. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
  7. Source: Manulife Investment Management, as of March 31, 2024. Manulife Investment Management’s global investment professional team includes expertise from several Manulife IM affiliates and joint ventures; not all entities represent all asset classes.
  8. Source: Manulife Investment Management, data as of June 30, 2024.

 

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