Manulife Asset Management Names New U.S. Large Cap Growth Team

BOSTON, July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management continues to expand its equity investment capabilities with the creation of a new U.S. Large Cap Growth team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The group of investment management professionals will be led by W. Shannon Reid, CFA.

The team's investment process employs fundamentally-oriented, bottom-up stock selection with a very clear focus on risk management that has enabled them to deliver strong and consistent performance to institutional and retail clients.

"The US Large Cap Growth team rounds out Manulife Asset Management's fundamental equity capabilities in large asset categories, and we welcome them to our organization," said J-F Courville, President and CEO of Manulife Asset Management. "This high-quality group of investment managers fits well with our culture that empowers our teams to operate in a boutique environment, while providing the resources and intellectual network of a global leader."

Shannon Reid, Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, most recently was a senior portfolio manager with the Strategic Large Cap Growth Equity team at Wells Capital Management. Joining him at Manulife Asset Management are three portfolio managers who have worked with him for more than 10 years building a top-notch track record:  Jay Zelko, CFA, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager; David M. Chow, CFA, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager; and Curtis Ifill, CFA, Director, Senior Investment Analyst. They join a deeply resourced global equity team.

Mr. Reid joined WellsCap when it acquired Evergreen Investments, where he managed a large cap growth equity team since 1995. Prior to that, he served as a senior research analyst and portfolio manager for Falcon Investments Ltd. He began his investment industry career in 1981 with Fidelity Investments. Mr. Reid earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia.

Jay Zelko also joined WellsCap from Evergreen Investments, where he began his investment industry career in 1987. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Cleveland State University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

David Chow joined WellsCap from Evergreen Investments, where he served as a portfolio manager since 1994.  He began his investment career at Moody's Investors Service in 1992 and earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Western Ontario.

Curtis Ifill also joined WellsCap from Evergreen Investments, where he began his investment career in 1996.  He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Johnson C. Smith University.

Expanding Equity Capabilities

Manulife Asset Management's new U.S. Large Cap Growth team follows two other recent additions of investment managers. In January of this year, Manulife Asset Management named veteran investment managers Walter T. McCormick, CFA, and Emory W. (Sandy) Sanders, Jr., CFA, to lead a new Boston-based fundamental Core Value Equity team.  

The former Optique Capital team joined Manulife Asset Management in February of 2011. Led by Wendell L. Perkins, CFA, the group added seasoned International Value Equity capabilities to Manulife Asset Management and its John Hancock Asset Management division.

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management™ is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management and its affiliates provide comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a broad 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. As at March 31, 2011, assets under management were Cdn$211 billion (US$217 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at ManulifeAM.com. Prior to December 15, 2010, Manulife Asset Management was known as MFC Global Investment Management.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients worldwide have looked 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 around the world. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$478 billion (US$492 billion) as at March 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 www.manulife.com  

SOURCE Manulife Asset Management