John Tsagarelis Joins Canadian Core Equity Investment Team at Manulife Asset Management

TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- John Tsagarelis, CFA, has been named portfolio manager for the newly formed Canadian Core Equity team at Manulife Asset Management, said Chris Conkey, Chief Investment Officer, Global Equities.

Mr. Tsagarelis, whose appointment is effective immediately, will be based in Toronto and report to Monika Skiba, who was appointed to head the new team in October. She and Mr. Tsagarelis will manage Canadian core equity strategies for clients of Manulife Asset Management, the investment management arm of Manulife Financial Corporation.

"John's addition to Monika's team demonstrates our commitment to further building out our fundamental equity capabilities in Toronto," said Mr. Conkey. "We are thrilled to have two highly experienced professionals, who have worked together very successfully in the past, anchor this new team."

"I am very pleased to work with John again and have him join me on our Canadian Core Equity team," Ms. Skiba said. "I welcome his extensive investment experience, and know that his deep knowledge of Canadian, US and global markets will be a tremendous asset to the Manulife Asset Management and our clients."

Ms. Skiba added that she expects to hire two investment analysts to round out the team in the next few months.

Before joining Manulife Asset Management, Mr. Tsagarelis, who has 15 years experience managing long and long/short portfolios, was a consultant at Hillsdale Investment Management. Previously, he was a senior portfolio manager at CPP Investment Board where he co-managed a global $3 billion long/short real return strategy. Earlier in his career, he worked at Veritas Investment Research/Asset Management and McLean Budden.

Mr. Tsagarelis graduated with a BBA from the Shulich School of Business at York University and later earned an MBA there. He holds an LL.B from the University of Ottawa and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

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 September 30, 2011 assets under management were Cdn$206.8 billion (US$199.0 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 operating in 21 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients 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. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$492billion (US$473 billion) as at September 30, 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