Manulife Asset Management Celebrates a Strong Year, Expands Capabilities

TORONTO and BOSTON, Dec. 29, 2015 /CNW/ -- Manulife Asset Management, the investment management arm of Manulife, is having another year of strong growth in both its sales and assets under management. It also continued to invest in the firm's asset management and thought leadership capabilities.

Total global assets managed by the firm were $393 billion as of September 30, 2015*, up 28 per cent from September 30 last year. The firm's long-term investment performance continues to be strong, with the majority of public asset classes outperforming their benchmarks on a 3- and 5-year basis.

Reflecting the global reach of the business, Asia net sales from institutional and sub-advisory clients globally, including large sovereign wealth funds, reached $3 billion. Driven by success in the institutional sales channel, the firm's gross capital flows more than doubled.

"We have invested strategically in Manulife Asset Management's growth and are pleased by the strong results we are seeing," said Warren A. Thomson, Chairman. "To our clients around the world, we extend our sincere thanks for their patronage and trust."

"In 2015, our firm performed well and long-term investment performance continued to be a differentiator. In our institutional business, assets under management increased to $66 billion, 68 per cent higher than September 30 last year," said Kai R. Sotorp, President and CEO. "We also continued our efforts to expand our distribution footprint, and we were pleased to see our client base expand and diversify by both type and geography."

"Private Markets experienced a very strong 2015," said Kevin Adolphe, President & CEO of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. "As we move into 2016, we look forward to leveraging our capabilities and further expanding our offerings with innovative investment solutions to serve the global market."

Milestones and Capabilities

In 2015, important developments to serve clients better included the acquisition of the Canadian operations of Standard Life, which expanded Manulife Asset Management's liability-driven investment (LDI) solutions capabilities.

In addition, to support its European distribution focus, the firm created a Dublin-based UCITS fund structure that today supports 11 funds.

In December, the firm became a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, demonstrating its commitment to responsible investment, by formalizing its approach to integrating environmental, social and corporate governance issues into investment analysis.

Global Thought Leadership

Manulife Asset Management's thought leadership program provided insights to help make sense of an increasingly complex world.

• "One step forward, half a step back: Meeting financial goals in Asia," the sixth report in the Aging Asia research series, explained how Asian investors are losing ground each year due to inefficient asset allocation.
• "Opportunities And Risks For Fixed Income Investors In An Evolving Yield Environment" looked closely at the evolving macro-economic environment and examined how fixed income assets could take on an additional role as alpha generator.
• "Dealing with divergence: How investors can position themselves to navigate a fork in global monetary policy" asserted that U.S. growth and U.S. export share are at the mercy of aggressive currency devaluations by other countries, but concluded that the U.S. economy is robust enough to withstand the devaluations.
• "The Changing Shape of Capital Markets in Emerging Economies" contended that while shorter-term headwinds contribute to emerging debt and equity market volatility, other changes create a compelling case for including emerging-market asset classes in long-term portfolios.

*All figures Canadian dollars, as of September 30, 2015, unless otherwise noted.

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife, providing comprehensive asset management solutions for investors. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. As at September 30, 2015, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$393 billion (US$294 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group providing forward-thinking solutions to help people with their big financial decisions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2014, we had 28,000 employees, 58,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving 20 million customers. At the end of September 2015, we had $888 billion (US$663 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $23 billion in benefits, interest and other payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. Follow Manulife on Twitter @ManulifeNews or visit www.manulife.com or www.johnhancock.com.

SOURCE Manulife Asset Management

Brian Carmichael, [email protected], [phone]; Beth McGoldrick, [email protected], [phone], http://www.johnhancock.com, http://www.manulife.com