Manulife Asset Management Names Mark Bandola and Les Young as Managing Directors on Institutional Sales Team

TORONTO, March 2, 2012 /CNW/ - Manulife Asset Management has named two new Managing Directors on its Canadian institutional sales team. Mark K. Bandola, CFA, joined the firm as Managing Director, responsible for institutional sales and business development in Western Canada, based in the firm's Calgary office. Les J. Young has been named Managing Director in charge of institutional sales in small and mid-markets across Canada, for clients with between $5 million and $100 million in assets. He is based in Manulife Asset Management's Toronto office. The appointments were effective on February 14.

Both new members of the team report to Adam Neal, Senior Managing Director and Canadian Head of Sales and Relationship Management.

"Mark and Les each fill new roles for Manulife Asset Management and will be very important to our success in executing our growth plan in Canada," said Mr. Neal. "We look forward to their contributions to our team as we expand our firm's foothold in the Canadian institutional marketplace, and further strengthen relationships with our clients."

Mr. Bandola has more than 20 years of experience in the Canadian institutional market, working with Canadian plan sponsors and consultants. He was with Franklin Templeton Institutional, where he was Vice President, Business Development, Western Canada, for seven years. Prior to that, he held positions with Maritime Life Assurance, Jones Heward Investment Counsel (BMO Financial Group), and Sun Life Financial. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation (CFA) and is a graduate of Simon Fraser University, B. Economics.

Mr. Young was formerly a Director, Fixed Income Product Management, and Marketing Manager with Manulife Asset Management over the past three years. In addition, Mr. Young has held various sales and product management positions with affiliates of Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University.

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management™ is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. Manulife Asset Management also provides investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

Manulife Asset Management has offices with full investment capabilities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition, it has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. It also has operations in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay. John Hancock Asset Management, Hancock Natural Resource Group and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management.

As at December 31, 2011, assets under management were Cdn$211 billion (US$208 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at www.manulifeam.com.

Manulife Asset Management was named a 2011 'Bond Manager of the Year' finalist by Money Management Intelligence (MMI) in the United States and "Best Asia Bond House" by Asia Asset Management.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, we celebrate 125 years of providing clients strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$500 billion (US$491 billion) as at December 31, 2011. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

SOURCE Manulife Asset Management

CONTACT: Beth McGoldrick, [phone], [email protected]

http://www.manulifeam.com