spot_img
27.5 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Manulife CEO bullish on PH operations

- Advertisement -

Ryan Charland, the president and chief executive of Manulife Philippines, is optimistic about the Canadian company’s operations in the country next year, given the growing economy and the opportunity to expand the domestic insurance market.

Manulife Philippines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp., a Canadian financial conglomerate considered one of the world’s largest life insurance companies.

“The prospects here in the Philippines are incredible.  You have good demographics and low insurance penetration rate, which means insurance has so much room to grow here,” says Charland who joined Manulife Philippines in January 2014.

Manulife Philippines launches its latest investment-linked product called Affluence Builder Plus in Makati City.  Shown are (from left) Manulife Philippines chief product officer Jasper Cheng, president and chief executive Ryan Charland and chief marketing officer Melissa Henson.

Charland, who has a degree in Computer Science/Actuarial Science from the University of Toronto, had been assigned to Hong Kong, the United States and Canada, before he was appointed the top executive of Manulife Philippines, one of the oldest financial companies with 108 years in the country.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, the company’s first name, began operations in the Philippines in 1907. 

- Advertisement -

Charland has worked for Manulife Financial in various leadership functions in product development, finance and corporate risk management for more than 10 years.

He says despite the stock market slump which affects the performance of the equity fund, Manulife believes that there is an opportunity in the present situation.

“We notice that people deferred their investments, but we think it is a good time to buy.  You buy low and sell high. So, it is really a buying opportunity right now,” he says.

Charland describes the 2016 prospects as good.  “We focus on expanding our distribution, specially in the Visayas and Mindanao, through our partnership with China Bank and Plantersbank.   By the end of this year, we should have 41 branches,” he says.

Charland believes that the partnership with China Bank and Plantersbank for the so-called bancassurance business will expand the reach of Manulife to the Visayas and Mindanao.

“We opened 10 branches this year.  We expanded…in Visayas and Mindanao,” he says.

Charland says Manulife’s new investment-linked product called Affluence Builder Plus is also a reason for optimism.  The product encourages investors to start big to reach financial goals sooner.

“Whether it is a bond fund, or equity bond, all the major funds we already have are available on this product,” says Charland. “We also have flexibility. You can withdraw your money if needed in particular point in time.”

Charland says Affluence Builder Plus is the most competitive investment product in the market today.  “There are a lot of products like this in the market, but none of them is as competitive.  I truly believe that this provides the best long-term investment for customers. We are very excited about this product,” he says.

Affluence Builder Plus, the latest in Manulife’s roster, allows policyholders to build up their funds early on. Through a low entry fee fully paid within the first year, customers are ensured that they are fully invested by the second year.

Affluence Builder Plus gradually builds up wealth through periodic premium payments. Clients can choose to pay smaller amounts with a longer pay period, or larger amounts over a more flexible timeframe. It also has added protection benefits that cover policy owners financially for accidental death or payment of premiums in case of disability.

“We started selling this product last month and we already had a lot of initial success, so we are quite excited about it,” says Charland.  “This is truly the best product in the industry.  It is very competitive.  We are very excited about it.”

Charland says through Affluence Builder Plus, clients can make premium payments over a five-to-ten year period, and at an amount and frequency they are comfortable with. “Affluence Builder Plus will help our clients fund their dreams – whether its for retirement, a home, education or any other large future expense,” he says.

Charland says  Affluence Builder Plus is expected to be a big contributor to overall sales volume of Manulife Philippines.  “The lowest minimum investment is P100,000 [per year] if you do a five-year payment, or P50,000 a year in 10 years,” he says.

He says the yield of the fund will depend on the performance of the financial markets chosen by the investor.  “We have a peso growth fund that is invested in equities, we have a bond fund or you can get a mix,” he says.

Manulife’s investment team manages the fund for investors and places the fund in the stock market or the bond market.

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles