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TORONTO, July 27, 2021 /CNW/ - Manulife Investment Management today announced a number of updates to its investment offerings.
Included in the updates are:
- Changes to Canadian Value Equity team
- Changes to the names of certain funds
- Addition of sub advisors to select funds
- Risk rating adjustments on certain funds
- Changes to DSC and order-entry only dealer commissions
Canadian Value Equity Team Updates
The Canadian Value Equity team will be renamed to the Manulife Investment Management Essential Equity team, effective on August 3, 2021. The team manages multiple strategies for public institutional and retail clients, and over the last 24 plus years, has expanded from managing largely domestic Canadian equity and balanced mandates to managing broader mandates including global balanced, U.S. equity and balanced, and focused equity capabilities strategies. The new name more accurately reflects the team's evolution since its inception in 1996.
"This is a high-performing team that has built a strong, scalable and repeatable investment process to deliver long-term performance," said Steve Medina, CIO, global equity. "They will continue managing clients' portfolios with the highest level of service in a manner consistent with agreed upon guidelines and investment objectives."
Alan Wicks, Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, and founder of the Essential Equity team will continue serving as its head, overseeing the research and portfolio management efforts of the team's strategies, while shifting away from fund portfolio management on January 2, 2022. With each strategy already having multiple portfolio managers including a lead, this shift is a natural step of the team's development.
"I'm immensely proud of the team that has been built over the years, the performance we have delivered and the relationships we have formed with clients," said Alan Wicks, Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, Manulife Investment Management. "I am excited about the next series of challenges and triumphs as we move forward together."
Manulife Value Balanced Fund/Class Name Changes
As part of the updates, Manulife Investment Management is announcing the following name changes to two of the team's Mutual Fund products, which become effective on or about the close of business on August 3, 2021.
Current Fund Name |
New Fund Name |
Manulife Value Balanced Fund |
Manulife Global Monthly High Income Fund |
Manulife Value Balanced Class |
Manulife Global Monthly High Income Class |
The retail class and fund will remain in the Global Neutral Balanced category, and its investment process will stay the same.
Addition of Sub Advisor to Select Funds
Effective on or about the close of business on August 3, 2021, the following individual will be added as a portfolio manager for the Manulife Global Unconstrained Bond Fund and the Manulife Global Strategic Balanced Yield Fund, and will share joint responsibility with the currently named portfolio managers for the day-to-day investment decisions of the funds.
- Murray Collis, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, Asia ex-Japan
As a result of this development, Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. will be added as a Sub-Advisor to the two impacted funds.
Changing Risk Ratings on Select Funds
Manulife Investment Management is also announcing a number of risk rating changes to its Mutual Fund platform as part of its annual Prospectus renewal process. These changes become effective on or about the close of business on August 3, 2021.
Risk rating increase:
Fund |
Current Rating |
New Rating |
Manulife U.S. All Cap Equity Fund |
Medium |
Medium to High |
Manulife U.S. All Cap Equity Class |
Medium |
Medium to High |
Risk rating decrease:
Fund |
Current Rating |
New Rating |
Manulife Strategic Investment Grade Global Bond Fund |
Low to Medium |
Low |
Manulife Moderate Portfolio |
Low to Medium |
Low |
The risk rating changes are based on an annual review following the methodology mandated by the Canadian Securities Administrators and are not the result of any changes to the investment objectives, strategies or management of these funds.
Changes to Deferred Sales Charges (DSC) and order-entry only dealer commissions
Following the decision from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to ban DSC, Manulife Investment Management is announcing its intention to discontinue new sales of its deferred sales charge options, including Low Load Sales Charges option, on or before May 31, 2022. In addition, Manulife Investment Management will be stopping the payment of any trailing commission to order-entry only dealers implementing the CSA restriction on such payments.
About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.
As of March 31, 2021, Manulife Investment Management had CAD $764.1 billion (US $607.6 billion) in assets under management and administration. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.
SOURCE Manulife Investment Management
Media Contact: Cheryl Holmes, Manulife, 416-557-0945, [email protected]
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