Manulife Financial Corporation's Asia Institutional Investor Day 2012

C$ unless otherwise stated

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC    SEHK:945

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Financial will host an Asia Institutional Investor Day on Friday, September 7, 2012 in Hong Kong. Donald A. Guloien, President and Chief Executive Officer and Robert A. Cook, Senior Executive Vice President & General Manager, Asia will present Manulife's Asia opportunities and growth strategy. Other members of the Asia Division senior management team who will also be presenting include:

Mr. Guloien stated, "I would like to reiterate that Asia represents Manulife's growth engine and I am very pleased with the results we are seeing. Across Asia, we are driving growth in the world's fastest growing markets, and I believe few other companies are as well-positioned in the region."

The Asia Investor Day will be held in Hong Kong and opening remarks are scheduled to begin at 10 am Hong Kong time (Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 10 pm ET for investors in North America) and closing remarks will conclude prior to 4 pm Hong Kong time (Friday, September 7, 2012 at 4 am ET).  Interested parties may access the live audio webcast through www.manulife.com/presentations.  The archived webcast will be available on Monday, September 10^th.

In connection with our Asia Investor Day, Manulife is providing supplemental information which will assist investors in comparing our Asian operations to that of our Asian peers. This information includes: total annual premium equivalent (APE) sales excluding variable annuities (VA), insurance APE sales, wealth sales excluding VA, total weighted premium income (TWPI) excluding VA and insurance APE sales by channel, all of which are common metrics used in Asia, but are considered non-GAAP measures under IFRS¹.

Total APE Sales: Total APE sales comprise of 100 per cent of regular premiums and 10 per cent of single premiums, for both insurance and wealth management products.

From 2008 to 2011 total APE sales excluding VA in the Asia Division grew at an impressive 24 per cent CAGR on a constant currency basis².

TWPI: TWPI includes 10 percent of single premiums/deposits, plus 100 percent of first year and renewal premiums/deposits. This applies to general funds, segregated funds and mutual funds.

From 2008 to 2011, TWPI excluding VA in the Asia Division grew at an impressive 14 per cent CAGR on a constant currency basis².

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1} Non-GAAP financial measures are not defined terms under IFRS and, therefore, are unlikely to be comparable to similar terms used by other issuers. Therefore, they should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any other financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS.  For more information, please see the Asia Investor Day presentation.
² Constant currency is a non-GAAP financial measure.  See footnote 1.
³ Rest of Asia includes: Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

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$514 billion (US$504 billion) as at June 30, 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.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation