Manulife Investment Management creates new Head of Real Assets position

BOSTON (May 17, 2021) – Manulife Investment Management announced that it has named Christoph Schumacher as global head of real assets, private markets, effective today. In this newly created position, he will be responsible for defining the firm’s private real assets strategy and managing the operations and development, launch, and growth of investment solutions for clients across the globe.

The appointment reflects Manulife Investment Management’s growing private markets business, and the rising interest for real asset investment solutions. The role unites the firm’s real asset capabilities across real estate, infrastructure, timber and agriculture, all of which have been key drivers of diversification, offering sustainable and nature-based solutions and have a long history of helping to generate differentiated return for clients. Mr. Schumacher will oversee US $42.9 billion¹ AUM globally and the heads of each of Manulife’s real asset teams will report directly to Mr. Schumacher.

“Christoph shares our vision to unify and collectively grow our global real assets business,” said Steve Blewitt, Global Head of Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management. “As more of our clients seek solutions across a broad range of alternative asset classes, Christoph’s acumen and experience will help ensure Manulife Investment Management continues to meet our clients’ needs and help drive strong investment performance over the long-term.” 

Mr. Schumacher brings an abundance of experience to Manulife Investment Management, having led global institutional real estate and infrastructure strategies in previous roles. In his most recent position, he served as Global Head of Real Estate and Managing Director at Credit Suisse Asset Management.

“I am excited to join a fast-growing, global team and look forward to bringing my expertise of leading real assets teams to Manulife Investment Management,” said Christoph Schumacher, Global Head of Real Assets, Private Markets. “The Manulife Investment Management team has built an impressive client base and assets under management and I am excited to be part of accelerating the firm’s growth across the globe.”

Mr. Schumacher plans to relocate to Boston and reports to Steve Blewitt. 

1. AUM in USD, on a fair value basis, as of March 31, 2021 and represents real estate equity, timber, infrastructure and agriculture assets managed by the institutional asset management arm of Manulife Investment Management on behalf of external clients, the Insurance business and other affiliated businesses. 

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We’re committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.

As of March 31, 2021, Manulife Investment Management had CAD $764.1 billion (US $607.6 billion) in assets under management and administration. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.