Standard Chartered bank and BlackRock have partnered to launch an Asia Pacific focused multi-asset strategy under the bank’s Variable Capital Company (VCC) platform.

The Signature Select APAC Allocation Plus fund will invest across equities, fixed income and liquid alternatives, and aim for long term capital appreciation alongside income generation.

BlackRock will act as the sub-manager, combining systematic equity insights and fundamental fixed income selection.

Sumeet Bhambri, global head, advisory and managed investments, wealth solutions, Standard Chartered, said: “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.”

The fund will be made available to accredited and professional investors across the bank’s priority, priority private, and private banking segments in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, Jersey, Malaysia, Kenya, and Nigeria, with other markets to follow.

Andrew Landman, deputy head of Asia Pacific and head of Asia Pacific wealth, BlackRock, said: “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.”