Standard Chartered (“the Bank”) today announced the launch of its latest sub-fund under its Variable Capital Company (VCC) platform, with BlackRock acting as the sub-manager.
The Signature Select APAC Allocation Plus fund is an Asia-focused multi-asset strategy designed to serve as a one-stop solution for investors seeking broad Asia Pacific exposure. The fund provides diversified exposure, investing across equities, fixed income and liquid alternatives, with the aim of delivering long-term capital appreciation alongside income generation.
Leveraging BlackRock’s Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions expertise, the portfolio is dynamically allocated across asset classes in Asia Pacific, combining systematic equity insights and fundamental fixed income selection to deliver diversified sources of return across market cycles.
The fund will be made available to Accredited and Professional Investors across Standard Chartered’s Priority, Priority Private, and Private Banking segments in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, Jersey, Malaysia, Kenya, and Nigeria, with other markets to follow.
The UAE remains a key wealth hub within Standard Chartered’s international network, benefiting from continued inflows of global talent, entrepreneurs and internationally connected investors. The Bank is seeing increasing demand from clients for diversified investment solutions that provide access to long-term structural growth opportunities across global markets while helping build portfolio resilience across market cycles.
Ayesha Abbas, Managing Director and Head of Affluent and Wealth Solutions, Deposits and Mortgages, EMEA & UAE at Standard Chartered, said: “The UAE continues to attract globally mobile investors and entrepreneurs who are increasingly looking beyond traditional geographic allocations in pursuit of long-term growth opportunities. Asia Pacific remains one of the world’s most dynamic investment regions, underpinned by structural growth trends, innovation and evolving consumer demand. Through the launch of the Signature Select APAC Allocation Plus fund, we are providing our clients in the UAE with access to a professionally managed, diversified multi-asset solution that helps them participate in these opportunities while maintaining a disciplined approach to portfolio construction and risk management.”
Sumeet Bhambri, Global Head, Advisory and Managed Investments, Wealth Solutions, Standard Chartered, said: “We are delighted to deepen our collaboration with BlackRock through the launch of our Signature Select APAC Allocation Plus fund. By combining our open architecture platform with BlackRock’s global multi-asset capabilities, we can provide our clients with a well-diversified, institutional-quality solution to capture opportunities across Asia Pacific region. This latest addition further strengthens our VCC platform, which is focused on delivering differentiated, hard-to-access strategies that help clients navigate increasingly complex market environments while building resilient portfolios.”
Andrew Landman, Deputy Head of Asia-Pacific and Head of Asia Pacific Wealth, BlackRock, said: “We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Standard Chartered, a valued partner serving high-net-worth clients with a diverse range of investment solutions. With strong economic growth prospects across Asia Pacific and many Asian assets still underappreciated, we see compelling opportunities for active investing. Together with Standard Chartered, we aim to bring our multi-asset investment expertise and disciplined portfolio construction approach to help investors access diversified sources of return and build resilient portfolios through market cycles.”
Standard Chartered set up its VCC in June 2024, aimed to harness synergies between the industry’s leading fund managers and the Bank’s team of global asset class specialists to deliver hard-to-access custom-curated investment strategies exclusively to the Bank’s clients, reinforcing its commitment to enhancing wealth solutions through strategic partnerships. This is the Bank’s eighth sub-fund launched to-date, and its third fund launch in 2026.
