Manulife Asset Management Posts CAD$9.9 (US$8.1) Billion in Net Institutional Sales Globally in First Half of 2015

-- Assets under management reached CAD$390 (US$313) billion as of June 30, 2015

-- Strong performance across asset classes

-- New senior appointments reinforce global growth

-- Thought Leadership takes a global approach

TORONTO and BOSTON, Aug. 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management, the investment management arm of Manulife (TSX, NYSE: MFC), generated more than CAD$9.9 (US$8.1) billion globally in net institutional new sales in the first half of 2015.

Parent company Manulife said in its second quarter 2015 earnings release that assets managed by Manulife Asset Management reached CAD$390 (US$313) billion as of June 30, 2015, an increase of CAD$69 (US$36) billion from December 31, 2014. Institutional assets managed by Manulife Asset Management reached CAD$64.7 (US$51.9) billion as of June 30, 2015, including CAD$7.7 (US$6.2) billion related to Standard Life, and in total were 72 percent higher than a year ago.

"Expanded investment capabilities and solid investment performance drove sales across Manulife Asset Management's global footprint," said Warren A. Thomson, Chairman of Manulife Asset Management.

This performance has been recognized. As of June 30, 2015, funds managed by Manulife Asset Management had a total of 101 Four- or Five-Star Morningstar rated funds1, an increase of 29 funds since December 31, 2014.

New mandates year-to-date include:

• Large fixed-income mandate from a Canadian client
• Strategic Fixed Income mandates with clients in Canada, Japan, South Korea and the U.S.
• U.S. Core and Core Plus Fixed Income mandates with clients in the U.S.
• An Outsourced Chief Investment Officer mandate managed by the Investments Solutions Team and a Target De-Risking Fund mandate with clients in Canada
• Global Investment Grade Fixed Income mandate with a client in the US
• U.S. Large Cap Core Equity mandate with a client in the U.S.
• Real Estate mandate with a client in Canada
• Farmland mandate from a major U.S. municipal retirement plan

"Manulife Asset Management has had a very solid start to the year with an 175 percent increase in total net sales in the first and second quarters as compared to the same period last year," said Kai Sotorp, President and CEO, Manulife Asset Management. "We have continued to win mandates across different strategies from clients around the world."

"We continue to grow our private markets business by creating innovative investment solutions for our customers in commercial real estate, private placement debt and commercial mortgages," said Kevin Adolphe, President and CEO, Manulife Asset Management Private Markets.

Completed Acquisition of Standard Life Investments Inc. in Canada On January 30, 2015, Manulife successfully closed the acquisition of the Canada-based operations of Standard Life plc and commenced the integration process. The transaction increased total Manulife Asset Management assets by CAD$26 (US$20) billion as of January 30, 2015.

As a result of this acquisition, Manulife Asset Management significantly expanded its capabilities, including liability driven investing (LDI) and real estate. The combination of the two firms meant that clients gained access to new expertise and an array of new products in addition to Manulife Asset Management's existing strengths in asset allocation solutions.

Manulife launched two new LDI funds in June – the Manulife Asset Management Short-Term Liability Corporate Bond Pooled Fund and the Manulife Asset Management Mid-Term Liability Corporate Bond Pooled Fund. These funds were added to an existing family of LDI Pooled funds to provide Canadian institutional clients with more flexibility in setting their credit exposure, while minimizing the interest rate risk relative to their liabilities.

Senior Appointments In the first half of 2015, Manulife Asset Management announced the following:

• Michael Dommermuth was named Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, bringing the company's Asian wealth and asset management divisions together under one umbrella.
• Roger Renaud was named President, Manulife Asset Management, Canada. He leads the development and implementation of Manulife's asset management strategy and business in Canada, growing and expanding this important market.
• Endre Pedersen, was named Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, Asia (ex-Japan), demonstrating our continued commitment to the Asian fixed income market
• Bill Peressini assumed the role of President of the Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG), previously held by Dan Christensen who will remain as CEO. He and Mr. Peressini will jointly lead HNRG moving forward.
• Claude Chene was appointed as Global Head of Distribution, responsible for creating the distribution vision and strategy, overseeing sales and relationship management activity for Manulife Asset Management on a global basis, and leading our institutional and wholesale expansion into Europe, Middle East and Latin American markets.
• Ken Pogrin was named Global Head of Business Development and Chief Operating Officer, Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. He will oversee the strategic rollout of the Private Markets business, direct product development across all asset classes, and lead M&A activities.
• Sahezad Pardhan was named Global Chief Financial Officer, Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. He will be accountable for completing the design, development and implementation of a world class finance function to support the growth of Private Markets.
• Jenn Lundmark was named Global Head of Real Estate Fundraising, Manulife Asset Management Private Markets and will direct a full range of activities related to the raising of real estate equity capital.

Thought LeadershipIn the report, Dealing with divergence: How investors can position themselves to navigate a fork in global monetary policy, chief economist Megan Greene examined how monetary policy divergence is driving volatility in local asset values in markets around the world, and how investors should prepare.

Kathryn Langridge, Head of Emerging Markets Equities, and Paolo Valle, Co-Head of Emerging Markets Debt co-authored The Changing Shape of Capital Markets in Emerging Economies. They suggested capital markets in emerging economies have remained significantly underdeveloped relative to their underlying economies, but will likely experience profound shifts over the next 15 years, with implications for debt and equity investors.

In Asia, Manulife Asset Management launched its sixth report in the Aging Asia research series in early June. Entitled One step forward, half a step back: Meeting financial goals in Asia, the report found that a preference for holding cash does not only complicate saving for retirement, it is also the culprit of potential investment return shortfalls.

1 Funds managed by Manulife Asset Management may be distributed by certain of its affiliates. For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category, the next 22.5%, 35%, 22.5% and bottom 10% receive 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 star, respectively. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance associated with its 3-, 5- and 10 year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The overall rating includes the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees, while the load-waived does not. Load-waived rating for Class A shares should only be considered by investors who are not subject to a front-end sales charge.

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 June 30, 2015, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$390 billion (US$313 billion).

Manulife Asset Management's public markets units have investment expertise across a broad range of asset classes including public equity and fixed income, and asset allocation strategies.  Offices with full investment capabilities are located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In addition, Manulife Asset Management has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. The public markets units of Manulife Asset Management also provide investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. John Hancock Asset Management and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management.

Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife Asset Management Private Markets

Manulife Asset Management Private Markets has investment expertise in several private asset classes, including commercial real estate, timberland and farmland, renewable energy, oil and gas, private equity and mezzanine debt. Manulife Asset Management Private Markets also partners with Manulife's specialized private asset investment teams to invest in private placement debt and commercial mortgages. Hancock Natural Resource Group, Manulife Real Estate, John Hancock Real Estate, NAL Resources, Regional Power, Manulife Capital, and Hancock Capital Management are units of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. As at June 30, 2015, Manulife's assets under management in private asset classes were C$98 billion (US$78 billion), including assets managed by and for Manulife's general fund and external clients. Additional information may be found at ManulifeAM.com/PrivateMarkets.

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 June 2015, we had $883 billion (US$708 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $22 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.

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SOURCE Manulife Asset Management