HSBC Global Asset Management has enhanced its range of multi-asset products with the introduction of its first cross border global multi-asset income fund.

Investments will be spread across a broad range of income-generating asset classes, such as emerging markets debt, global high yield bonds, infrastructure and global listed real estate securities.

At launch, these are expected to generate a yield of around 4% (gross).

Meike Bliebenicht, Senior Product Specialist for Multi Asset at HSBC Global Asset Management, said: “Africa forms part of the fund's global investment universe and is covered as part of the emerging market exposure of the fund.”

“Typically, the allocation to Africa will be very small, as the fund's main objective is to deliver an income stream from a diversified range of asset classes. This will typically lead to a focus on higher yielding asset classes in the portfolio and also usually means that within the equity segment there will be a value bias, rather than a growth bias,” he told Africa Global Funds.

HSBC Global Asset Management’s £60bn ($92.57bn) multi-asset business is currently one of Europe’s largest.

The HSBC GIF Global Multi-Asset Income fund is an addition to the firm’s Luxembourg-domiciled HSBC Global Investment Funds range and is a response to continuing strong client demand for multi-asset products.

Simon Ellis, Head of Client Segments at HSBC Global Asset Management, said that many private investors and pension funds are now looking for funds that combine risk mitigation with an above-average yield.

“The HSBC GIF Global Multi-Asset Income fund meets this need with a simple and transparent solution to the challenge of delivering the right outcomes in today's investment environment of lower returns and high volatility,” he said.

The fund will target mainly European and Middle-Eastern investors, with the fund being registered in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Scandinavia, UAE, Malta and Jersey.

Other countries may follow at a later stage.

Bliebenicht said the fund can be an appropriate investment for people in or nearing retirement, as they tend to seek investments that will produce enough income to help support their need.

“However, income investing can be popular with younger generations, too, for example as investors will need to see their income continue to grow over time to protect from the effects of inflation,” he said.

“In the Global Multi-Asset Income Fund, we adopt a globally diversified approach to generating income to enable investors of all ages to benefit from the returns of multiple asset classes and geographies, and at the same time tends to smooth ‘single market’ volatility (e.g. asset class and/or geography) that may occur during market cycles,” he added.