You Can Now Invest in Global Real Estate Through GCash — Manulife Brings REIT Funds to Your E-Wallet for the First Time
GCash users can now invest in global real estate without leaving the app. Starting February 20, Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corp. launched four income-paying unit investment trust funds on GFunds — including the first-ever Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) funds available on any Philippine e-wallet.
The new offerings include the Manulife Asia Pacific REIT Fund and the Manulife Global REIT Feeder Fund, which invest in property assets across Asia and worldwide. For Filipinos who have always wanted to own a piece of international real estate but couldn't afford to buy property abroad, these funds offer a way in with a much lower entry point.
Two additional income-paying UITFs were also added: the Manulife Peso Fixed Income Fund and the Manulife Dollar Fixed Income Fund, giving investors more diversified options for generating passive income through their GCash accounts.
The partnership between GCash and Manulife represents a significant step in democratizing investment access in the Philippines, where only about 1% of the population actively invests in securities. By putting sophisticated financial products on an app used by over 90 million Filipinos, the barrier to entry drops dramatically.
With the global real estate market offering potentially higher yields than traditional savings accounts — and with REIT dividends providing regular income — the new GFunds products could attract a whole new generation of Filipino investors who prefer to manage their money from their smartphones.
Source: BusinessWorld / Manila Times
