Manulife Mutual Funds Streamlines Fund Lineup with Proposed Mergers; Names Manulife Asset Management as Portfolio Advisor for Several Funds

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC
SEHK:945

TORONTO, May 29, 2012 /CNW/ - Manulife Mutual Funds announced plans today for fund mergers to occur later this year in an effort to create a stronger fund lineup and reduce administrative costs. Plans call for mergers of 10 funds on or about October 5, 2012, followed by mergers of seven more funds on or about November 23, 2012.

"The proposed fund mergers are the result of ongoing reviews of our fund lineup. Through this analysis, we believe it's in the best interest of securityholders of certain funds that we initiate these merger plans," said Jeff Ray, Assistant Vice President, Mutual Funds and Structured Products. Securityholders are expected to benefit by having operating costs and expenses spread across a greater pool of assets thereby potentially reducing the expenses of Continuing Funds in the future. The management fees for the Continuing Funds are equal to, or in most cases, lower than those of the Terminating Funds.

In addition Manulife Mutual Funds said that a group of its retail mutual funds presently sub-advised by Portland Investment Counsel Inc. ("Portland") will soon be advised by portfolio management teams from Manulife Asset Management, the asset management division of parent company Manulife Financial. Included are the following retail open-end funds:  Manulife Advantage Fund, Manulife Advantage Fund II, Manulife Advantage II Class, Manulife Global Advantage Fund, Manulife American Advantage Fund, Manulife Canadian Focused Fund and Manulife Canadian Focused Class.  These funds will be managed by Manulife Asset Management portfolio manager Duncan Anderson along with Alan Wicks, with the exception of Manulife American Advantage Fund, which will be managed by Sandy Sanders and Walter McCormick, also of Manulife Asset Management.

The change will also affect the following closed-end funds:  Copernican International Financial Split Corp., Copernican World Banks Split Inc. and Copernican World Financial Infrastructure Trust. Lisa Welch and Susan Curry of Manulife Asset Management will serve as portfolio managers.

The effective date of the transfer of portfolio management responsibilities is July 3, 2012.

Portland, of Burlington, Ontario, had provided this group of open and closed-end funds with portfolio management services since September 25, 2009.

"Our affiliation with Portland has been a significant and productive one for Manulife Mutual Funds over the past two and a half years, and we thank the organization for their many contributions to the management of several funds on our platform," said Paul Lorentz, President of Manulife Investments.  "Working together with Portland and Manulife Asset Management, we will make every effort to ensure a smooth transition."

Details about the fund mergers follow:

Trust Fund and Corporate Class Mergers (after the close of business on or about October 5, 2012, the "Merger Date")

Manulife Mutual Funds has received from its Independent Review Committee the recommendation and/or approval to proceed with plans for mergers of the following funds:

Terminating Fund	Continuing Fund
Manulife Global Advantage Fund	Manulife International Dividend Income Fund (to be renamed Manulife International Focused Fund on or about October 5, 2012)
Manulife American Advantage Fund	Manulife U.S. All-Cap Equity Fund
Manulife European Opportunities Fund	Manulife International Value Equity Fund
Manulife Canadian Value Class	Manulife Dividend Class (to be renamed Manulife Canadian Stock Class on or about October 5, 2012)
Manulife Canadian Large Cap Value Class	Manulife Dividend Class (to be renamed Manulife Canadian Stock Class on or about October 5, 2012)
Manulife Advantage II Class	Manulife Canadian Focused Class
Manulife International Value Class	Manulife International Value Equity Class
Manulife Canadian Core Class	Manulife Canadian Opportunities Class
Manulife Canadian Equity Class	Manulife Canadian Opportunities Class
Manulife Total Yield Class	Manulife Structured Bond Class (to be renamed Manulife Bond Class on or about September 24, 2012)

Each securityholder of a Terminating Fund will receive advance notice of the mergers through a Notice of Termination or, in the case of those mergers that require securityholder approval, a Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular, in accordance with applicable securities laws. In particular:

• The mergers of Manulife European Opportunities Fund, Manulife Canadian Value Class, Manulife Canadian Large Cap Value Class, Manulife Advantage II Class, Manulife International Value Class, Manulife Canadian Core Class, Manulife Canadian Equity Class and Manulife Total Yield Class also require the approval of the securityholders of the Continuing Fund.
• The mergers of Manulife Global Advantage Fund, Manulife European Opportunities Fund, Manulife Canadian Core Class, and Manulife Canadian Equity Class also require the approval of the Canadian securities regulators.

Each of these proposed mergers will be executed on a tax-deferred basis, with the exception of the merger of Manulife Global Advantage Fund, which will be conducted on a taxable basis.

All of these fund mergers are expected to be completed after the close of business on or about October 5, 2012.

As part of these changes, Duncan Anderson's management responsibilities on Manulife Dividend Fund/Class and Alan Wicks' management responsibilities on Manulife Canadian Value Fund/Class will transition to Monika Skiba on or about July 3, 2012.

Trust Fund Mergers (after the close of business on or about November 23, 2012, the "Merger Date")

Manulife Mutual Funds has received from its Independent Review Committee the recommendation and/or approval to proceed with plans for mergers of the following trust funds.

Terminating Fund	Continuing Fund
Manulife Canadian Value Fund	Manulife Dividend Fund (to be renamed Manulife Canadian Stock Fund on or about November 23, 2012)
Manulife Advantage Fund	Manulife Canadian Focused Fund
Manulife Advantage Fund II	Manulife Canadian Focused Fund
Manulife Sector Rotation Fund	Manulife Canadian Opportunities Fund
Manulife Canadian Equity Fund	Manulife Canadian Opportunities Fund
Manulife Canadian Core Fund	Manulife Canadian Opportunities Fund
Manulife Simplicity Aggressive Portfolio	Manulife Simplicity Growth Portfolio

Each securityholder of a Terminating Fund will receive advance notice of the mergers through a Notice of Termination or, in the case of those mergers that require securityholder approval, a Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular, in accordance with applicable securities laws. In particular:

• The mergers of Manulife Canadian Value Fund, Manulife Canadian Core Fund and Manulife Canadian Equity Fund also require the approval of the securityholders of the Continuing Fund.
• The mergers of Manulife Sector Rotation Fund, Manulife Canadian Core Fund, Manulife Canadian Equity Fund, and Manulife Simplicity Aggressive Portfolio also require the approval of the Canadian securities regulators.

Each of these proposed mergers will be executed on a tax-deferred basis, with the exception of the merger of Manulife Simplicity Aggressive Portfolio, which will be conducted on a taxable basis.

All of these fund mergers are expected to be completed after the close of business on or about November 23, 2012.

Ceasing Distribution of New Securities
Effective as of the close of business on October 2, 2012 (for the Mergers with an Effective Date of October 5, 2012) and November 20, 2012 (for the Mergers with an Effective Date of November 23, 2012), each Terminating Fund will cease distribution of new securities (except purchases under existing pre-authorized chequing plans, systematic withdrawal plans and dollar cost averaging plans). Securityholders will have the right to redeem the securities of each Terminating Fund up to the close of business on the effective date of each merger.

Following the mergers, pre-authorized chequing plans, systematic withdrawal plans and dollar cost averaging plans, which had been established with respect to a Terminating Fund will be re-established with respect to the corresponding Continuing Fund unless securityholders advise us otherwise. Each Terminating Fund is intended to be wound-up or terminated as soon as possible after completion of its merger.

Investment Objective Changes
Manulife Mutual Funds will be holding special meetings of securityholders on or about September 18, 2012 for securityholders of record as of August 13, 2012 for each of Manulife Dividend Fund, Manulife Dividend Class and Manulife Structured Bond Class to approve certain investment objective changes.

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 approximately C$18.8 billion as at March 31, 2012 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, 2012, assets under management were C$219.8 billion (US$219.8 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$512 billion (US$512 billion) as at March 31, 2012. 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. 

Media contacts: 
Tracy Van Kalsbeek
Public Relations Consultant
Manulife Financial Canadian Division
519-594-4697
[email protected]