SCHRODER ISF EMERGING MULTI-ASSET INCOME BY SCHRODER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (SINGAPORE)
Launched recently here by Schroders Singapore, the fund aims to provide sustainable monthly payouts and capital growth from the world's fastest-growing economies.
It is targeting a payout of 5 per cent a year by investing in a diversified range of emerging markets asset classes, primarily equities, local-currency government bonds, United States-dollar government bonds and corporate bonds.
It employs active asset allocation and risk management to maximise potential returns.
The fund is available to Singapore investors through HSBC, with more distributors expected in coming months.
It has an initial charge of up to 5 per cent and an annual management fee of 1.25 per cent.
The fund offers accumulation and distribution share classes, giving investors the option to either reinvest the distributions or receive regular monthly payouts.
The Luxembourg-domiciled fund was first launched in April 2015, and has about US$148 million (S$205 million) of assets under management as of May 31 this year.
Since its inception in 2015, the fund has achieved annualised returns of 5.9 per cent per year as of May 31, in US dollar terms. Year-on-year, the fund has returned 14.7 per cent.
MANULIFE INVESTREADY BY MANULIFE SINGAPORE
InvestReady is insurer Manulife's new investment-linked plan that gives customers the choice of focusing on growing their investment (called the wealth option), or combining wealth accumulation with life protection (protect option).
Under the wealth option, customers get a double loyalty bonus if their account value falls below the total premiums paid, a feature that cushions their losses.
Under the protect option, customers get protection coverage of up to 50 times their first year's premium or their total account value, whichever is higher.
If a total and permanent disability occurs, all of a customer's surrender charges are waived if he needs to make withdrawals during the minimum premium-payment period.
There is also another waiver of all future premiums up to the end of this same period.
InvestReady customers enjoy double bonuses - a welcome one of up to 90 per cent of annual premiums, and an extra loyalty bonus every five years.
Customers can choose from a suite of professionally managed unit trust funds, including dividend-paying ones that provide a stream of regular income.
Their investment will be fully maximised as their money is 100 per cent invested from day one without any sales charges. And they can enjoy free fund switching and automatic fund rebalancing to keep their portfolios on track.
Mr Carlos Vazquez, chief product officer of Manulife Singapore, said the new product offers customers the flexibility to choose the design of their plan based on their investment and protection needs.
"With the various bonuses provided, InvestReady helps customers maximise their chances of hitting their investment targets as well," he added.
The choices on offer include options for minimum premium-payment periods, ad hoc top-ups, adjustment of regular premiums, partial or full withdrawals and optional critical illness riders, although this last one is only for the protect option.
ePROTECT sMILES BY ETIQA INSURANCE
Etiqa Insurance, the insurance arm of Maybank Group, has launched a usage-based plan that offers drivers 50 per cent premium savings upfront while enjoying the same comprehensive insurance coverage.
It adopts a "pay-as-you-drive" model and uses telematics app technology to measure a driver's travelled distance.
The plan differentiates itself from traditional car insurance as drivers who spend less time behind the wheel will no longer overpay for coverage.
ePROTECT sMiles provides savings from the start with a payment model that starts with a low base rate. Drivers can drive up to 6,000km a year in return for 50 per cent savings on their insurance premium. The mileage is broken down into quarterly allocations of 1,500km.
If the driver exceeds the allocated 1,500km in a quarter, he must top up his premium at a specified per-kilometre rate. At the end of the quarter, his bill will be the base rate plus how many kilometres he drove. Several factors may influence each driver's rate, including age, type of vehicle and driver history.
A driver's journeys are recorded via the Etiqa Insurance app and a small Bluetooth beacon device provided. The app will also measure the smoothness, anticipation, cornering and speed during the trip. This then generates a score from one to five, with a map showing the areas of good driving performance and those that could do with improvement.
The rating mechanism is aimed at promoting better habits, such as driving at or below speed limits and accelerating moderately. A lower driving score may affect the driver's car-insurance renewal premium.
