2012 News Releases

Singapore - Manulife Singapore today launched the Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund that provides investors with a regular income stream. This is the first Fund for an investment-linked plan (ILP) in the Singapore market to provide a regular monthly income catering to retirement needs and other financial objectives.

The Fund targets to pay a dividend of 3.6 cents (SGD) per unit per annum or 0.3 cents (SGD) per unit per month.** The income paying platform leverages on the strong fundamentals of the Singapore economy as well as its growth potential as an Asian hub participating in the region’s strong growth. Singapore has attributes of a prime investment landscape as it proved to be resilient by retaining a ‘AAA’ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s and achieved 4.9 percent economic growth last year despite the tough global economic climate in 2011.

Singapore is among the fastest ageing societies in the world. The proportion of elderly residents i.e. aged 65 and above is growing faster than the resident population. The proportion of elderly residents increased from 6 per cent in 1990 to 9.3 per cent in 2011. Life expectancy is also increasing and according to statistics, for life expectancy at age 65, males can live on average up to age 83 and females up to age 87*.

“As a whole many Singaporeans do not have a well-structured retirement portfolio to provide a regular stream of income. With the Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund, consumers will now have a fund to build a regular flow of income,” said Ms Annette King, President & CEO of Manulife Singapore.

The Fund seeks to provide medium to long term capital appreciation and income by primarily investing 60% into the Manulife Singapore Bond Fund and 40% into the Manulife Singapore Equity Fund both of which are managed by Manulife Asset Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. This balanced portfolio approach is designed to cushion the impact of market volatility.

“The Fund is a balanced portfolio that invests in both Singapore bonds and equities. It has the flexibility to actively allocate between these two asset classes, aiming to strike a balance between achieving stable returns from the bond market while still giving investors access to the long term growth potential of the equity market,” said Mr Pang Cheng Duan, head of fixed income, Manulife Asset Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, and the lead portfolio manager for this ILP fund.

“Manulife Financial has a strong presence in the wealth management space. Globally, Manulife has been investing money for clients for 125 years and has been operating in Asia for 115 years. Manulife Asset Management has more than 300 investment professionals around the world, with approximately 100 investment professionals in 10 markets across Asia. Furthermore, it has a proven track record by winning the ‘Best Asian Bond House’ award from Asia Asset Management in 2011 and being named the ‘Most Astute Investor in Local Currency Bonds’ for five years since 2007 by the Asset Benchmark,” added Ms King.

The Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund provides the following benefits:

• The Fund targets to pay dividend of 3.6 cents (SGD) per unit per annum or 0.3 cents (SGD) per unit per month.** The cash income amount is based on the number of eligible unit holdings at the point of payout. If investors are not in need of the cash income stream, they may also opt to reinvest the distribution as units in the Fund.
• For the equities allocation, the underlying fund invests primarily in companies with strong fundamentals delivering good earnings and trading at reasonable valuations. For the fixed income allocation, the underlying fund invests in bonds such as those issued by the Singapore government and good quality corporates, leveraging on the rigorous credit analysis of Manulife Asset Management.   
• The Fund’s Annual Management Charge (AMC) is 1.2% per annum. Investors can purchase units with cash or SRS.
• Investors can choose from two products: Manulink and Manulink Investor. Both are single premium investment-linked plans where Manulink offers higher protection and Manulink Investor is more focused on investment.

The Manulife Income Series – Singapore Fund is first of the series and will be distributed by Manulife Financial Planners.

Note to Editors:

 *The Elderly in Singapore, Department of Statistics Singapore.

 Life Expectancy at Age 65, Department of Statistics Singapore.

**There is no guarantee, assurance and/or certainty that any distribution will be made and if distributions are made, such distributions are not in any way a forecast, indication or projection of the future or likely performance/payout of the Fund. The making of any distributions shall not be taken to imply that future distributions will be made. The Fund Manager and/or Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd may also vary the frequency and/or the amount of distributions made. When distributions are declared and paid out with respect to the Fund, the net assets of the Fund will reduce by an amount equivalent to the distributions declared. Thus it will be reflected as a reduction in the unit price.

About Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.

Manulife Financial Corporation 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$500 billion (US$491 billion) as at December 31, 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 manulife.com.

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.

Manulife Asset Management was named a 2011 Bond Manager of the Year finalist in the United States by Money Management Intelligence (MMI) and Best Asian Bond House by Asia Asset Management. As at December 31, 2011, assets under management were C$211 billion (US$208 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at ManulifeAM.com.