Manulife Mutual Funds Launches 15 New Funds, Further Expanding Global Opportunities Available to Advisors and Clients

TORONTO, Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Mutual Funds today announced the launch of 15 new funds, further expanding and strengthening the global investment options it offers to advisors and their clients.

"Building on our robust growth in the first half of 2011, we are very excited to now offer more than two dozen of what we believe will be outstanding investment options for our customers," said Paul Lorentz, President of Manulife Investments. "We believe these Funds have excellent investment mandates with top investment managers to execute them. These additional offerings across multiple asset classes will help investors meet their individual needs as well as help to further position Manulife Mutual Funds as a premier provider of investment solutions."

Manulife Mutual Funds' year to date sales as of June 30, 2011 surpassed $2.2 billion, an increase of 66 per cent from the previous year. During the second quarter of 2011, it posted new sales of $864 million. Moreover, Manulife Mutual Funds was the second fastest growing firm based on funds under management of the top 10 firms reporting to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada so far this year.

"With the addition of a large number of high quality funds to our line-up, we continue to send a strong message to advisors and their clients of the positive momentum at Manulife Mutual Funds," said Jeff Ray, Assistant Vice President, Mutual Funds & Structured Products. "This is part of our on-going commitment to provide advisors and their clients with access to top performing portfolio managers and mutual fund solutions."

Of particular note among the new Funds are the:

Manulife Leveraged Company Class

This mutual fund will be unique in Canada and managed by Dennis F. McCafferty, John F. Iles and Joseph Rizzo of Manulife Asset Management (U.S.), LLC. It seeks to deliver capital appreciation by investing primarily in the equity and debt securities of leveraged companies. Taking a contrarian approach, the managers will invest in companies in challenged industries and/or in companies in difficult circumstances with the potential to rebound. This mutual fund should appeal to investors with high risk tolerance, who are seeking maximum returns through a unique and opportunistic portfolio of primarily U.S. securities.

Manulife Value Balanced Fund/Class

Two of Manulife Asset Management's most experienced managers will oversee this highly flexible global balanced fund. Alan Wicks and Terry Carr, who direct the team managing the successful Manulife Monthly High Income Fund, will manage this Fund which seeks to provide long-term total return by investing primarily in Canadian and foreign equity and fixed-income securities, with no asset, sector or geographical constraints.

Manulife U.S. All Cap Equity Fund/Class and the Manulife U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund/Class

Earlier this year, Walter McCormick and Emory Sanders, who have worked together for more than a decade, brought their core value team to Manulife Asset Management. Highly experienced in the industry, they will lead the team managing these two new funds, following their 7-step process to uncover financially strong companies with sustainable competitive advantages, selling at discounts to intrinsic value.

The U.S. All Cap Equity Fund/Class will seek to provide long-term capital growth by investing in a broad range of U.S. equities across different sectors and market capitalizations. The Manulife U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund/Class will seek to provide long-term capital growth by focusing on large cap U.S. companies that the portfolio managers believe are well positioned to outperform over the long term.

The other new Funds include the:

Manulife Asia Total Return Bond Fund

Endre Pedersen and Yu-Ming Wang of Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited, believe credit markets in Asia are under-researched due to limited coverage, which creates investment opportunities. Their team will seek to extract value through proprietary research of the fast developing Asian bond markets. The strategy will invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income securities issued by governments, agencies, supranationals and corporations in Asia.

Manulife Global Small Cap Balanced Fund

Leveraging the strength of Paul Moroz of Mawer Investment Management Ltd. who manages the Manulife Global Small Cap Fund and Manulife Asset Management's Dan Janis and his team which manages the Manulife Strategic Income Fund, this new balanced fund will combine global small cap equities and global multi-sector bonds in one portfolio. Mr. Moroz will manage the equity portion by direct purchases into the Manulife Global Small Cap Fund and the fixed income portion by direct purchases into the Manulife Strategic Income Fund.

Manulife Global Focused Balanced Fund

This Fund, which will be managed by Third Avenue Management LLC, will provide investors with exposure to a carefully selected portfolio of equity and fixed-income securities that meet Third Avenue's investing criteria. The equity side of the portfolio will invest directly into the Manulife Global Focused Fund while the fixed income side will invest in securities using Third Avenue's credit capabilities.

Manulife International Value Equity Fund/Class

This Fund will leverage the investment capabilities of Wendell Perkins, Peggy McKay, and their international value team which joined Manulife Asset Management earlier this year. The Fund's mandate will be based on the team's successful international value strategy.

Manulife High Yield Bond Fund

Leveraging the strength of Terry Carr's fixed income team, this Fund will seek to generate a high level of income with the potential for capital appreciation by investing primarily in higher yielding, lower quality global fixed income securities.

Manulife Asia Equity Class

Managed by Linda Csellak, head of Asia Pacific equities for Manulife Asset Management in Hong Kong, this Fund will focus on companies in the Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) region, taking advantage of the organization's on-the-ground presence throughout Asia.

Manulife Diversified Strategies Fund

A new global asset allocation portfolio managed by Manulife Asset Management's Portfolio Solutions Group, this Fund will be positioned to provide consistent returns over the long term as well as downside protection during times of market turbulence.

Name Change

The successful Manulife Simplicity Income Portfolio is being renamed to Manulife Diversified Income Portfolio and joining the Manulife Income Family of Funds.

About Manulife Mutual Funds

Manulife Mutual Funds, a division of Manulife Asset Management Limited, builds on more than 120 years of Manulife Financial's wealth and investment management expertise in managing approximately $17.9 billion as at June 30, 2011 for Canadian investors, through a diverse portfolio of forward-thinking mutual fund products. Our experienced Portfolio Managers offer access to markets in Canada, the United States and around the world, in a range of investment styles to help meet individual needs. Manulife Mutual Funds is part of Manulife Investments, which offers personal wealth management products and services, such as mutual funds, segregated funds, annuities and guaranteed investment contracts. For more information, please visit manulifemutualfunds.ca

About Manulife Asset Management Limited

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 June 30, 2011, assets under management for institutional clients were Cdn$209 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 $481 billion (US$498 billion) as at June 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

Manulife Funds and Manulife Corporate Classes are managed by Manulife Mutual Funds. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Simplicity is a registered trademark of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife Financial) identifying the Manulife Simplicity Portfolios offered by Manulife Mutual Funds, a division of Manulife Asset Management Limited and the Manulife Simplicity Portfolios available in Manulife segregated fund contracts offered by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. All Manulife Simplicity Portfolios are designed to target a specific risk/return profile for each of the risk tolerance categories. However, the underlying investments and fees will differ between the mutual fund and segregated fund versions of a portfolio within a risk category.  As a result, the performance of the corresponding mutual fund and segregated fund portfolios will vary. Manulife, Manulife Mutual Funds, the Manulife Mutual Funds For Your Future logo, the Block Design, and Manulife Leaders Portfolios are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license.

SOURCE Manulife Mutual Funds