The John Hancock Greater China Opportunities Fund has surpassed $100 million in assets under management, the president and CEO of mutual fund business for John Hancock Funds has revealed.
The fund, which is sub-advised by MFC Global Investment Management (USA) and led by Hong Kong-based senior portfolio manager Pauline Dan, was launched in June 2005. Since inception, the fund has posted an average annual return of 36.56%.
We’re very pleased with the growth of assets in the fund. We believe the economic growth in Greater China has been a unique story that has resonated with our clients, John Hancock Funds president and CEO Keith Hartstein said. When we launched the fund, we knew that MFC Global’s strong presence and expertise in China would provide a unique investment opportunity for experienced investors looking to take advantage of that special market. It appears that investors agree.
MFC Global’s Ms Dan said that, despite the risks that come with emerging markets, the growth potential in China remains enormous. She believes that the Chinese government is seeking to cool the economy somewhat from the annual growth rates of close to 10% that it has experienced over the last few years.
Nevertheless, the trajectory of China’s growth rate has actually been similar to that of Japan and Korea during their headiest days of growth, Ms Dan said. All economies reach points of maturity and growth in China eventually will slow. In the near term, however, I don’t see any major obstacles to continued solid economic growth over next few years.
Ms Dan also cited three key factors that she believes may make investing in China attractive to investors, namely an increasingly business-friendly political structure, a growing middle class with rising income levels that will make the Chinese economy less export dependent, and decreasing market volatility.