Monika Skiba Tapped to Lead New Canadian Core Equity Investment Team at Manulife Asset Management

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Monika Skiba, CFA has been named to lead the formation of a new Canadian Core Equity team at Manulife Asset Management, said Chris Conkey, Chief Investment Officer, Global Equities.

Ms. Skiba, whose appointment as a Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager is effective immediately, will be based in Toronto. She will build an investment team focusing on Canadian core equity strategies for clients of Manulife Asset Management, the investment management arm of Manulife Financial Corporation. The formation of the team is expected to be completed within the next few months.

"I am very pleased to have Monika join our team. She brings a wealth of experience, having managed a number of different strategies where she applied a highly disciplined bottom-up stock selection process. Her addition further strengthens our fundamental equity capabilities and builds on the investment we are making in our business to continually better serve our clients," Mr. Conkey said. "The creation of this new Core Equity team also will be an excellent complement to our already strong Canadian equity desk and a demonstration of our commitment to further building a world-class equity capability in Toronto."

Before joining Manulife Asset Management, Ms. Skiba had been a Vice President, Portfolio Manager at McLean Budden, where she co-managed Canadian equity value, global equity value and EAFE strategies. Previously, she was an equity analyst at Economic Investment Trust, an institutional equity salesperson at Research Capital and a private client associate at Richardson Greenshields.  Through these roles, she developed a deep understanding of the Canadian institutional market and a keen drive to contribute to a growing business.  

Ms. Skiba graduated with a BSc from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

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 June 30, 2011 total assets under management were US$217 billion. Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-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 Cdn$481billion (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.

SOURCE Manulife Asset Management