Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) and Kotak Mahindra (UK) have agreed to collaborate on fund management and distribution opportunities in Asia.

Manulife is a financial services organisation with a wide footprint and well-established businesses in Asia.

Kotak is a banking and financial services group in India, headquartered in Mumbai. 

The move is key to Manulife’s goal of enhancing its investment management capabilities in Asia’s second largest capital market.

It also gives Kotak access to Manulife’s Asian and global investment capabilities, and creates cross-distribution opportunities for both parties in the institutional and retail wealth management arenas.

Upon completion of final agreements and subject to necessary regulatory approvals, Manulife’s investment management division, MFC Global Investment Management, will have access to Kotak's investment expertise for the Indian portion of its Asia Pacific equity strategies.

India is growing in significance for many regional investors due to its increasing weighting in Asia Pacific benchmarks, representing up to 15 per cent of some regional indices.

MFC Global Investment Management currently manages over USD33bn in Asia, of which USD8.3bn is in equities and almost USD1bn in Asia Pacific equity strategies. 

Manulife plans to include Kotak-advised products on its open architecture platforms across the region.

Philip Hampden-Smith, executive vice president and general manager, South East Asia operations of Manulife, says: “Kotak is one of India’s premiere wealth and asset management companies. Manulife has market leading insurance and investment businesses in Greater China and across Asean region. We see considerable opportunity in leveraging our complimentary skill-sets in these rapidly evolving capital markets. We will work with Kotak  to create quality and forward-thinking wealth management products and services, that cater for our clients’ increasingly sophisticated financial needs both across the region, and globally.” 

C. Jayaram, executive director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, adds: “We are pleased to collaborate with Manulife a large and well respected financial institution with a strong presence across Asia. As the Indian financial services industry continues its high growth trajectory, this is a significant opportunity for the two financial majors to leverage their parallel strengths.”