Manulife’s Muni Head Scouts for M&A Targets in a Troubled Sector

Manulife Investment Management’s Adam Weigold says he’s found a solution to investing in health care, which continues to struggle with exorbitant costs and pressured revenues: pick municipal bonds sold by hospitals ripe for acquisition.

Weigold has been targeting bonds sold by health-care facilities that he believes will be scooped up by bigger systems, boosting the ratings and prices of the securities. He said there had been four health-care mergers in his portfolio last year.

“I’m a portfolio manager who loves the health-care space in munis for maybe some of the reasons why a lot of people don’t like it,” ...