John Hancock Financial Network Expands Build4Success Platform

BOSTON, April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN) is enhancing its Build4Success platform by offering a practice management component with valuation, business assessment, and coaching services for its top 250 financial representatives. This new enhancement focuses on helping more top financial professionals and advisors within JHFN's national network understand the value and growth potential of their financial services practices as well as opportunities to enhance their relationships with valued clients.

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Components include a business valuation conducted by FP Transitions, a leading provider of equity management services and business assessment and coaching services by Business Health, an international practice management consultancy firm.

"We're providing this new practice management offering to our top financial professionals and advisors because we know that business valuation and assessment tools supported by personalized coaching helps reps drive business growth and improve the client experience," said Brian Heapps, CLU, ChFC, Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development.

FP Transitions worked with JHFN to develop its proprietary valuation methodology, as part of JHFN's Build4Success equity and succession planning program, which considers investment and insurance-based financial services practices. "Assessing a practice using our model can really help set a benchmark as well as a course of action as a financial advisor strives to grow a practice and better serve his or her clients," said David Grau, President, FP Transitions.

Business Health has been working with JHFN for a number of years and will now provide to eligible reps the company's Healthcheck, a web-based business assessment tool to benchmark a rep's practice in 30 different areas and provide a detailed analysis of a practice's key business drivers and growth opportunities.  In addition, Business Health will provide reps the opportunity to see their practices from different perspectives through their proprietary client survey and staff survey process.

"Lack of information prevents many financial advisors from reaching their full potential," said Ray Henderson, Partner, Business Health. "Our goal is to use our tools to provide the necessary information to help JHFN's motivated financial professionals reach the next level of success and understand how to build stronger relationships with their clients."

"Research shows that financial advisors who invest in coaching experienced 25% growth due to customer acquisition and retention through an improved customer experience and overall deeper relationship," said Kathy Klingler, Senior Vice President of Brand Management and Strategic Marketing, JHFN. "Our Build4Success platform has been focused on helping our financial professionals and advisors build the businesses they envision and provide access to resources to drive growth. By enhancing our platform to include a valuation component and insights from the rep, client, and staff perspective, our reps will have a better view of how they can drive the growth of their practice and build deeper client relationships."

About John Hancock Financial Network

John Hancock Financial Network is a national network of independent firms with approximately 1,900 financial professionals across the U.S. A leader with the stability and scale to offer an innovative business model, John Hancock Financial Network gives entrepreneurial financial professionals the power to effectively build unique businesses, based on their own vision and market opportunity. For more information on John Hancock Financial Network and its national network of independent firms, visit www.johnhancockfinancialnetwork.com.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. For more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$475 billion (US$478 billion) as at December 31, 2010.

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.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at www.johnhancock.com.

Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through Signator Investors, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor, 197, Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116. FP Transitions and Business Health are separate entities from John Hancock.

SOURCE John Hancock Financial Network