KUALA LUMPUR: Standard Chartered has launched the Signature Select APAC Allocation Plus fund, its latest sub-fund under the bank's Variable Capital Company (VCC) platform, with BlackRock appointed as sub-manager.
In a statement, the bank said the new fund is an Asia-focused multi-asset strategy designed to provide investors with diversified exposure across equities, fixed income and liquid alternatives, targeting long-term capital appreciation alongside income generation.
Leveraging BlackRock's Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions capabilities, the portfolio will be dynamically allocated across Asia Pacific asset classes, combining systematic equity insights with fundamental fixed income selection to deliver diversified returns across market cycles.
The fund will initially be offered to accredited and professional investors through Standard Chartered's Priority, Priority Private and Private Banking segments in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Jersey, Malaysia, Kenya and Nigeria, with additional markets to follow.
Standard Chartered’s global head of advisory and managed investments, wealth solutions Sumeet Bhambri, said the launch deepens the bank's collaboration with BlackRock while enhancing its VCC platform with another institutional-quality investment solution.
"By combining our open architecture platform with BlackRock's global multi-asset capabilities, we can provide our clients with a well-diversified, institutional-quality solution to capture opportunities across the Asia Pacific region," he said.
BlackRock deputy head of Asia-Pacific and head of Asia Pacific Wealth, Andrew Landman, said the region's strong economic growth prospects and attractive valuations present compelling opportunities for active investing.
He added that the collaboration would combine BlackRock's multi-asset investment expertise with disciplined portfolio construction to help investors build resilient portfolios through different market cycles.
Standard Chartered established its VCC platform in June 2024 to offer exclusive investment strategies developed through partnerships with leading fund managers and the bank's asset class specialists. The latest launch marks the bank's eighth VCC sub-fund and its third fund introduced this year.
