Manulife Investment Management has appointed Grace Ho, chief marketing officer for Asia, as head of direct digital business and portfolios in the region.

The firm says the newly created role reflects its commitment to expanding its digitally-enabled distribution capability to embrace the new normal: a new set of customer needs across investing and retirement, and new distribution models with intermediaries and direct digital platforms.

In her new role, Ho will have business accountability for the direct digital business, and be responsible for integrating digital offerings such as Manulife iFUNDS into the firm’s digital ecosystems across investment and pension platforms.

“Covid-19 has changed the way our industry distributes wealth solutions, and we have the disruptive solution in Manulife iFUNDS to match the challenges. Our job is to fully leverage and build on Manulife iFUNDS, bringing a total wealth solution to our different markets in Asia,” Ho says.

Manulife iFUNDS has been launched in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam since 2019. Customers can plan and make fund transactions on the platform, and advisers can have easy access to customers’ portfolio information for them to provide timely service virtually.