Manulife Investment Management announces changes to certain mutual funds and closed-end funds 

Toronto– Manulife Investment Management today announced proposed changes to its mutual fund and closed-end fund platforms, subject to applicable regulatory and securityholder approvals. These changes will help streamline our platforms of actively managed investments and further our commitment to offering diverse, strong-performing products to help Canadian investors achieve their goals.

·        Securityholder vote on proposed fund merger

·        Termination of certain mutual funds

·        Termination of certain closed-end funds

·        Changes to Manulife Value Balanced Fund and Manulife Value Balanced Class

·        Closing the series of certain funds to new purchases

Securityholder vote on proposed fund merger

Manulife Investment Management is proposing to merge the following funds on or about October 23, 2020. The proposed merger is designed to streamline Manulife’s platform for advisors and investors. Both funds are currently sub-advised by Manulife Investment Management (U.S) LLC.

Subject to the approval and implementation of the merger the default management fee for Series I of the Continuing Fund will be reduced from 0.75% to 0.72% on the date of the merger.

The proposed merger will be executed on a taxable basis and will require regulatory approval, as well as the approval of the securityholders of the Terminating Fund. The Independent Review Committee of the Funds has reviewed the proposed merger and concluded that it achieves a fair and reasonable result for the Funds.

Securityholders of the Terminating Fund will receive a Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular for this proposal, in accordance with applicable securities laws. The required securityholder approvals will be sought at a special meeting to be held virtually on or about October 1, 2020 for securityholders of record as of August 21, 2020.

Termination of certain mutual funds

Effective on or about October 19, 2020, Manulife Investment Management will terminate the following funds and distribute the proceeds to securityholders of record on that date. The proposed terminations include:

• Manulife Canadian Dividend Growth Class
• Manulife Growth Opportunities Class
• Manulife Short Term Yield Class

·        The Goals-Based Investing Program will be discontinued including its underlying funds: Manulife Diversified Alpha Portfolio, Manulife Quantitative Fixed Income Fund 2022, Manulife Quantitative Fixed Income Fund 2027, Manulife Quantitative Fixed Income Fund 2032, Manulife Quantitative Fixed Income Fund 2037, Manulife Quantitative Fixed Income Fund 2042, Manulife Income Fund 2022, Manulife Income Fund 2027, Manulife Income Fund 2032, Manulife Income Fund 2037, Manulife Income Fund 2042, Manulife Income Fund 2047, Manulife Income Fund 2052, Manulife Income Fund 2057, Manulife Income Fund 2062, Manulife Income Fund 2067

Prospectus qualified securities of the funds are no longer available for new purchases effective as of 4 p.m. ET on July 28, 2020. This includes purchases through regular investment plans. Impacted investors are encouraged to contact their advisor to discuss the financial and tax implications of these fund changes and to discuss options, including how to switch their assets to another Manulife mutual fund that best meets their individual investment needs and circumstances prior to the termination date.

Termination of certain closed-end funds

Effective on or about September 30, 2020, Manulife Investment Management intends to terminate the following closed-end funds (the “Closed-End Funds”) and to distribute the termination proceeds to unitholders on or about October 7, 2020.  The proposed terminations include:

·        Manulife Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund

·        Manulife U.S. Regional Bank Trust

Holders of class A units (TSX: MBK.UN) and class U units of Manulife U.S. Regional Bank Trust and holders of class A units (TSX: MFR.UN) and class U units of Manulife Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund will not be required to take any action in connection with the proposed termination of the Closed-End Funds. In connection with the proposed termination:

·        The Manager will request that the class A units of each Closed-End Fund be de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange at the close of business on or about September 30, 2020.

·        Separately from the termination proceeds, it is anticipated that each Closed-End Fund will also pay its regular monthly distribution pertaining to the month ending September 30, 2020, as follows:

·        In accordance with the respective declaration of trust of each Closed-End Fund, the Manager will distribute the assets of each Closed-End Fund for an amount equal to the pro-rata share of the assets of the applicable class of units remaining after the payment or accrual of all debts, expenses and liabilities and liquidation expenses of each Closed-End Fund. Payment of the final termination proceeds will be made on or about October 7, 2020 to the beneficial holders of such units through CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc.

Changes to Manulife Value Balanced Fund and Manulife Value Balanced Class

Effective on or about August 4, 2020, the following individuals will be added as portfolio managers of the Manulife Value Balanced Fund and Manulife Value Balanced Class and will share joint responsibility with the currently named portfolio managers for the day-to-day investment decisions of the funds:

·        Daniel S. Janis, III, Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC

·        Thomas C. Goggins, Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC

·        Kisoo Park, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited

·        Christopher Chapman, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Manulife Investment Management (Europe) Limited

In addition, the distribution policy for the Manulife Value Balanced Fund Advisor Series, Series D and Series F securities will be changed from quarterly income distributions, if any, to monthly distributions based on a target distribution rate or dollar amount per unit.

Closing to new purchases the low-load series of Manulife Private Investment Pools

Effective immediately, the low-load series of Manulife Private Investment Pools, Series L and LT, will be closed to new purchases.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than 150 years of financial stewardship to partner with clients across our institutional, retail, and retirement businesses globally. Our specialist approach to money management includes the highly differentiated strategies of our fixed-income, specialized equity, multi-asset solutions, and private markets teams—along with access to specialized, unaffiliated asset managers from around the world through our multimanager model. Our personalized, data-driven approach to retirement is focused on delivering financial wellness in retirement plans of all sizes to help plan participants and members retire with dignity.

Headquartered in Toronto, we operate as Manulife Investment Management throughout the world, with the exception of the United States, where the retail and retirement businesses operate as John Hancock Investment Management and John Hancock, respectively; and in Asia and Canada, where the retirement business operates as Manulife. Manulife Investment Management had CAD$832 billion (US$586 billion) in assets under management and administration.^* Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit our website at manulifeim.com.

* MFC financials in CAD. Global Wealth and Asset Management AUMA as of March 31, 2020, was $832 billion and includes $195 billion of assets managed on behalf of other segments and $139 billion of assets under administration.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of March 31, 2020, we had $1.2 trillion (US$0.8 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $30.4 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

Media Contacts:

Brooke Tucker-Reid                                                         
Manulife                            
647-528-9601
Brooke_Tucker-Reid@manulife.com