Manulife Asset Management Highlights Diverse Fixed Income Expertise With New Campaign

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management said today that it has begun a new campaign designed to highlight its expertise as a premier institutional fixed income investment manager. The firm, which has approximately $91 billion in global fixed income assets under management, is embarking on an online advertising push in major trade publications, and also has launched a new website featuring white papers, investment manager videos, links to webinars, and related information.

"Institutional investors are looking for fixed income solutions that can offer higher yields, protection in a rising rate environment and diversification within their fixed income allocation as well as with other asset classes. Given that we field investment teams throughout North America and Asia, with strategies spanning global fixed income from core to long duration, and investment grade to high yield, we believe we are uniquely positioned to offer insight to our clients and other members of the institutional community," said Christopher Conkey, Global Chief Investment Officer, Manulife Asset Management.

Advertising began recently in Pensions & Investments, Institutional Investor, FundFire, as well as other online publications.

The website, which is optimized for tablets and smartphones, is accessible at http://manulifeam.com/balancingriskreturn, and features white papers including:

• "Balancing Risk and Return in Today's Market" focuses on the choice between risk mitigation and return generation that plan sponsors face regarding their fixed income allocations in today's challenging, low yield environment. Video commentary from David Zielinski, CFA, Managing Director and Fixed Income Product Manager; Thomas C. Goggins, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager; and Daniel S. Janis III, Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager; on the Global Multi-Sector Fixed Income team, accompanies the paper.
• "Redefining Risk in U.S. Treasuries" features commentary from Howard Greene, CFA, Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, U.S. Core/Core Plus team; Daniel Janis, and Thomas Goggins. The paper discusses the implications of holding US Treasuries, considers what is driving the market and how the risks inherent in this market are changing.
• In "Benchmarks Today," accompanied by video comments from Howard Greene, David Zielinski, Daniel Janis and Thomas Goggins, the focus is on the inherent risks in today's high quality, broad-based global and domestic fixed income benchmarks.  With increased interest rate and concentration risk, these benchmarks may not deliver the same risk and return characteristics going forward that they have in the past — potentially holding higher risk while missing out on significant opportunities.
• "Currency Wars," with accompanying video comments from Oscar Gonzalez, Economist at Manulife Asset Management, delves into the risk of competitive currency devaluations, despite recent G7 and G20 pledges to let market forces determine exchange rates, as more countries face fiscal austerity and look to exports to sustain economic recovery.
• "Capturing a World of Opportunity: Advantages of Global versus Non-US Fixed Income Exposure," acknowledges that with US Treasury yields near record lows and spreads on credit instruments back to levels last seen pre-financial crisis, the range of value-added options for fixed income investors is shrinking, while investment risks are rising. For investors prepared to look further afield, the inclusion of overseas bonds within a US dollar-bond portfolio can offer significant benefits, potentially enhancing returns and diversifying risk.
• "The World is Our Oyster," looks at how plans, in a low yield environment, have chosen to shift a portion of their fixed income assets away from core domestic strategies, opening the opportunity set to include global bonds, lower quality high yield securities, emerging markets debt, and capital structure opportunities — all tools a manager of a Global Multi- Sector strategy can take advantage of.
• "The Changing Dynamics of Fixed Income Allocation" examines why the time may be right for investors to consider adding a Global Multi-Sector fixed income strategy to their portfolios.

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 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. John Hancock Asset Management, Hancock Natural Resource Group and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management. As at June 30 2013, assets under management were C$260 billion (US $247 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look 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 also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$567 billion (US$539 billion) as at June 30, 2013. 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 Asset Management

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