Manulife Mutual Funds Announces Completion of the Conversion of Manulife Global Tactical Credit Fund into an Open-Ended Mutual Fund and the launch of the Manulife U.S. Tactical Credit Fund

- Manulife Global Tactical Credit Fund and the newly launched Manulife U.S. Tactical Credit Fund can invest opportunistically based on their portfolio management teams' analysis of market direction and the investment potential of a wide range of U.S. and global corporate and government fixed income securities

TORONTO, July 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Manulife Mutual Funds announced today the completion of the previously announced conversion of Manulife Global Tactical Credit Fund (formerly, Manulife Strategic Income Opportunities Fund, the "Fund") into an open-ended mutual fund on June 28, 2013 (the "Conversion Date"). The units outstanding prior to the conversion were automatically converted to front-end Advisor Series units of the Fund on a one-for-one basis on the Conversion Date. The Fund is now also offering Series F securities, Series FT6 securities, Series I securities, Series IT securities and Series T6 securities for sale. In connection with the conversion, the name of the Fund was changed to the Manulife Global Tactical Credit Fund and units of the Fund were made redeemable daily on demand at their net asset value.

The conversion of the Fund together with the launch of the Manulife U.S. Tactical Credit Fund introduces two income-producing mutual funds with mandates that provide the portfolio management teams with maximum flexibility to invest across the spectrum of U.S. and global fixed income securities.

"The portfolio management teams can tactically allocate the assets of these Funds to various types of fixed income securities in the U.S. and regions of the world based on their bottom-up fundamental analysis and views on market direction," said Mr. Derek Saliba, Head of Mutual Funds Product. "These Funds offer return opportunities throughout the credit cycle as the managers have the flexibility to deploy various investment techniques regardless of market environments, including tools to manage the duration of the portfolios," he said.

Key highlights of the funds are as follows:

• Manulife U.S. Tactical Credit Fund – a highly flexible approach to investing in the world's largest and most dynamic credit market. The Fund seeks to provide long-term total return consisting of income and the potential for capital appreciation by investing primarily in a portfolio of U.S. investment grade and high yield debt securities.

The portfolio management team for this Fund includes John Addeo, a value-oriented fundamental investor with more than 20 years of experience investing across the entire capital structure and credit spectrum, and Dennis McCafferty, who specializes in high yield fixed income and floating rate strategies, and has more than 17 years of investment experience. Mr. Addeo and Mr. McCafferty are located in the Boston office of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC, the Fund's portfolio sub-advisor.

• Manulife Global Tactical Credit Fund – a tactical, go anywhere approach towards investing in the global credit markets. The Fund's investment objectives post-conversion are to provide unitholders with monthly distributions and to preserve capital while providing the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation.

This Fund is managed by a team of experts from different geographies and with expertise in investing in various credit markets. Supporting John Addeo and Dennis McCafferty on this Fund are Endre Pedersen, who is based in Singapore and currently managing the Asian multi-currency fixed income strategy for Manulife Asset Management, and Dan Janis, whose areas of expertise include foreign exchange, derivatives, and global economics. Mr. Janis is also the lead portfolio manager for the Manulife Strategic Income Fund.

For more information, please contact Manulife Customer Service at 1 888 588 7999.

About Manulife Mutual Funds
Manulife Mutual Funds, a division of Manulife Asset Management Limited, builds on 125 years of Manulife Financial's wealth and investment management expertise in managing assets for Canadian investors, through a diverse portfolio of forward-thinking mutual fund products. Our experienced Portfolio Managers offer access to markets in Canada, the United States and around the world, in a range of investment styles to help meet individual needs. Manulife Mutual Funds is part of Manulife Investments, which offers personal wealth management products and services, such as mutual funds, segregated fund contracts, annuities and guaranteed interest contracts. For more information, please visit manulifemutualfunds.ca.

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 March 31, 2013, assets under management were CDN$252 billion (US$248 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at www.manulifeam.com.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for 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$555 billion (US$547 billion) as at March 31, 2013. 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 Mutual Funds

Beth McGoldrick, Manulife Mutual Funds, 1-617-663-4751, [email protected]; Brian Carmichael, Manulife Mutual Funds, 1-617-663-4748, [email protected]

http://www.manulife.com