People Moves: Manulife IM appoints Jessie Liu as Asia Head

Press Release - Manulife Investment Management today announced the appointment of Jessie Liu to the position of Head of Transactions and Portfolio Management, Real Estate, Private Markets, Asia. In her new role, Jessie will report to Marc Feliciano, Global Head of Real Estate, Private Markets, and will join Manulife Investment Management's global real estate leadership team. Jessie will lead the sourcing, acquisition, and new market development of real estate investment in the region, taking over the transaction and portfolio management responsibilities from Kenny Lam who will be departing the firm in June.

Since joining Manulife Investment Management in 2019, Jessie has led and completed multiple investment transactions in key Asia markets across different property types including logistics, commercial and multi-family. Jessie will continue to be based in Hong Kong.

Prior to joining Manulife, Jessie has held senior roles at China Resources Land Private Equity and Yue Yuen Industrial responsible for real estate investments and strategies. She also had experience working in the real estate team of the Blackstone Group and at Merrill Lynch Real Estate Principal Investments before her in-house roles.

Jessie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, majoring in Finance from the National Taiwan University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University Stern School of Business. She is also a CFA Charterholder.

"The strategic importance of the Asia region in our global real estate growth strategy simply cannot be overstated. We are very pleased that Jessie will lead the Asia real estate footprint expansion across the many markets we operate in," said Marc Feliciano, Global Head of Real Estate, Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management.

Manulife Investment Management develops and manages commercial real estate around the globe as part of its comprehensive private markets' capabilities. As of December 31, 2021, the real estate portfolio totals 64 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, and multifamily space strategically located in markets across Canada, the U.S., and Asia Pacific. The group leverages its global platform and local expertise to provide market-leading solutions for its tenants and deliver results for its partners.  

Since the beginning of 2022, Manulife Investment Management has advised on a number of real estate investments in the region, including in Greater Hanoi and Greater Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Japan, and entered into a strategic cooperation with a minority equity stake in ARCH Capital, a real estate private equity investment manager specializing in opportunistic, value-add and core/core-plus strategies in Asia.

Source: Press Release