Myron Zhu joins Manulife with expansion mandate

Zhu aims to make Manulife one of the major players in Asian private markets within 3-5 years, especially through the development of third-party partnerships. Private equity and real estate activity will leverage a substantial existing portfolio in the region. Relatively less developed private credit and infrastructure strategies will be subject to wider-ranging build-out efforts. 

"My mandate is really to grow the investment capability in Asia by both leveraging existing capability Manulife has on the ground here within different verticals as well as looking to fill gaps," Zhu told AVCJ. "We will be looking for partnerships to grow in these gaps either organically or inorganically. We believe that Asia, in the next 10-20 years, will be a phenomenal investment growth opportunity for us."

Zhu served as co-head of Asia in 2014 for FLAG Capital, which operated in the region as FLAG Squadron Asia until it was acquired by Aberdeen in 2015. Additional experience includes positions at J.P. Morgan Chase, DBS Bank, and AIG Capital Partners. Zhu has historically focused on private equity but has also worked in mezzanine and structured finance, as well as real estate.

Manulife has $877 billion in assets under management globally, about 12% of which is in private markets, including private equity, credit, infrastructure, and real estate. Less than 10% of the private markets pool is deployed in Asia, with PE investment in the region currently totaling around $2 billion. Asia, however, accounts for more than one-third of the financial services group's overall global business.

Third-party capital accounts for about 25% of total private markets exposure, but this is expected to rise, particularly in Asia. "We are in discussions with potential partners to explore how we can build these capabilities together," Zhu added. "For Manulife, Asia private markets is one of the top priorities globally. So, I do get a lot of attention, but that also puts a lot of pressure on my end as well."

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