TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2023 /CNW/ - Manulife Investment Management was recognized by Fundata Canada for its performance in 15 segregated funds,10 mutual funds and 2 ETFs throughout the calendar year. With 27 funds earning FundGrade A+® Awards, Manulife Investment Management has been recognized with awards for 11 consecutive years, every year since the awards' debut in 2012.

The FundGrade A+® Award is given annually to investment funds and managers who show consistent, outstanding, risk-adjusted performance through the year, based on up to 10 years of history. Achieving a FundGrade A+® Rating is an honour because only around 6% of the investment fund products available in Canada have received a FundGrade A+® rating.

"I would like to thank and congratulate the portfolio management teams and our colleagues who have enabled us to be recognized today," said Patricia Corcoran, Head of National Sales, Manulife Investment Management, Canada. "Given the volatility and challenging economic conditions of the past year, I'm particularly proud of our team's achievements in receiving these FundGrade A+® ratings. We are committed to providing Canadians with diverse investment solutions that meet investor needs, and this recognition demonstrates our success."

The following segregated funds, mutual funds, and ETFs were awarded Fundata's FundGrade A+® rating:

Segregated funds*	FundGrade start date	FundGrade calc date	Fund count	1Y return	3Y return	5Y return	10Y return	Total return since inception	Inception date
Canadian Dividend & Income Equity category
Manulife Ideal Fidelity Dividend Fund	2013-1-31	2022-12-31	222	-3.11	8.46	6.48	6.24	6.26	2012-12-12
Canadian Equity category
Manulife Canadian Equity Private Segregated Pool	2015-1-31	2022-12-31	513	-3.09	8.44	8.55	—	7.87	2014-10-6
Canadian Fixed Income category
Manulife Ideal Canadian Unconstrained Bond Fund	2015-1-31	2022-12-31	416	-13.26	-3.32	-1.38	—	-0.74	2016-5-17
Canadian Focused Equity category
Manulife Fundamental Equity GIF Select	2013-1-31	2022-12-31	456	-6.92	8.69	8.93	9.38	7.87	2009-10-5
Manulife Ideal Canadian Equity Fund	2013-1-31	2022-12-31	456	-6.51	7.87	8.15	8.30	8.38	2012-12-12
Canadian Neutral Balanced category
Manulife RetirementPlus CI Canadian Balanced Fund	2014-1-31	2022-12-31	942	-10.41	2.97	2.23	—	3.71	2013-10-28
European Equity category
Manulife Invesco Europlus GIF Select	2013-1-31	2022-12-31	63	-29.78	-6.59	-1.21	5.14	5.82	2009-10-2
Global Equity category
Manulife Global Equity Private Segregated Pool	2015-1-31	2022-12-31	862	-12.15	4.94	7.28	—	9.20	2009-10-2
Global Fixed Income Balanced category
Manulife Balanced Income Portfolio GIF Select	2013-1-31	2022-12-31	270	-11.30	0.93	2.01	4.26	4.66	2009-10-2
Manulife Balanced Income Private Segregated Pool	2015-1-31	2022-12-31	270	-12.66	-0.78	0.91	—	2.35	2014-10-6
Global Fixed Income category
Manulife Global Fixed Income Private Segregated Pool	2015-1-31	2022-12-31	139	-10.00	-1.65	-0.06	—	1.53	2014-10-6
Global Neutral Balanced category
Manulife Global Monthly High Income GIF Select**	2014-1-31	2022-12-31	899	-19.20	4.39	4.18	—	5.05	2013-10-7
Manulife Global Monthly High Income Private Segregated Pool**	2014-1-31	2022-12-31	899	-19.02	—	—	—	-7.42	2021-5-25
Manulife U.S. Monthly High Income GIF Select	2015-1-31	2022-12-31	899	-18.67	4.05	5.28	—	5.44	2014-4-7
Manulife U.S. Balanced Value Private Segregated Pool	2016-1-31	2022-12-31	899	-18.36	4.39	5.61	—	5.45	2015-4-30
Tactical Balanced category
Manulife Ideal Tactical Income Fund	2013-1-31	2022-12-31	122	-6.34	4.54	4.19	—	4.76	2016-5-17

Mutual funds***	FundGrade start date	FundGrade calc date	Fund count	1Y return	3Y return	5Y return	10Y return	Total return since inception	Inception date
Canadian Equity category
Manulife Canadian Equity Private Pool	2013-01-31	2022-12-31	371	-2.74	8.81	8.97	8.88	9.05	2012-12-12
Canadian Equity Balanced category
Manulife Fundamental Balanced Class	2013-01-31	2022-12-31	254	-6.25	5.54	6.30	6.92	6.34	2012-3-21
Canadian Focused Equity category
Manulife Fundamental Equity Fund	2013-01-31	2022-12-31	365	-6.49	9.15	9.39	9.85	8.01	2003-8-26
Canadian Neutral Balanced category
Manulife Canadian Growth and Income Private Trust	2016-01-31	2022-12-31	218	-6.77	3.68	4.17		4.30	2015-8-5
Global Equity category
Manulife Global Equity Private Pool	2013-01-31	2022-12-31	1146	-11.82	5.42	7.97	11.36	11.29	2012-12-12
Global Fixed Income Balanced category
Manulife Moderate Portfolio	2018-01-31	2022-12-31	465	-10.58	0.23	1.63		1.69	2017-5-5
Global Neutral Balanced category
Manulife U.S. Balanced Value Private Trust	2016-01-31	2022-12-31	950	-18.07	4.77	5.99		5.70	2015-3-18
Manulife U.S. Monthly High Income Fund	2014-01-31	2022-12-31	950	-18.33	4.45	5.69		6.43	2013-12-24
Manulife Strategic Balanced Yield Fund	2013-01-31	2022-12-31	950	-10.12	2.13	2.83	7.11	7.09	2012-3-21
Manulife Global Balanced Private Trust	2014-01-31	2022-12-31	950	-11.97	2.59	4.86		7.10	2013-10-10

ETFs****	FundGrade start date	FundGrade Calc date	Fund count	1Y return	3Y return	5Y return	Total return since inception	Inception date
Canadian Equity category
Manulife Multifactor Canadian Large Cap Index ETF (MCLC)	2018-01-31	2022-12-31	371	-0.09	8.48	6.89	7.01	2017-4-10
Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity category
Manulife Multifactor Canadian SMID Cap Index ETF (MCSM)	2018-01-31	2022-12-31	126	-4.25	9.92	8.42	8.73	2017-11-27

* Segregated fund performance shown for GIF Select InvestmentPlus, MPIP Segregated Pools and Manulife RetirementPlus funds are for the front-end sales charge. For Ideal funds, the performance shown is for the no-load sales charge. Performance for the winning segregated funds is for the period ending December 31, 2022. The Manulife RetirementPlus and Manulife Ideal segregated fund contracts are no longer open to new deposits effective October 2022.

**The Fundgrade A+® award applies to an entire fund family, including every segregated fund product and series where a fund is available. This fund has been listed twice to highlight that it is available in both GIF Select and MPIP Segregated Pools contracts.

***Mutual fund performance shown is for advisor series. Performance for the winning mutual funds is for the period ending December 31, 2022.

**** Performance for the winning ETFs is for the period ending December 31, 2022.

FundGrade A+® is used with permission from Fundata Canada Inc., all rights reserved. The annual FundGrade A+® Awards are presented by Fundata Canada Inc. to recognize the "best of the best" among Canadian investment funds. The FundGrade A+® calculation is supplemental to the monthly FundGrade ratings and is calculated at the end of each calendar year. The FundGrade rating system evaluates funds based on their risk-adjusted performance, measured by Sharpe Ratio, Sortino Ratio, and Information Ratio. The score for each ratio is calculated individually, covering all time periods from 2 to 10 years. The scores are then weighted equally in calculating a monthly FundGrade. The top 10% of funds earn an A Grade; the next 20% of funds earn a B Grade; the next 40% of funds earn a C Grade; the next 20% of funds receive a D Grade; and the lowest 10% of funds receive an E Grade. To be eligible, a fund must have received a FundGrade rating every month in the previous year. The FundGrade A+® uses a GPA-style calculation, where each monthly FundGrade from "A" to "E" receives a score from 4 to 0, respectively. A fund's average score for the year determines its GPA. Any fund with a GPA of 3.5 or greater is awarded a FundGrade A+® Award. For more information, see www.FundGradeAwards.com. Although Fundata makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Fundata.

Manulife Investment Management is a trade name of Manulife Investment Management Limited (formerly named Manulife Asset Management Limited) and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife) is the issuer of Manulife Investment Management insurance contracts and the guarantor of any guarantee provisions therein. Manulife Mutual Funds are managed by Manulife Investment Management Limited.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund, ETFs and segregated fund investments. Please read the fund facts as well as the prospectus before investing in mutual funds, the ETF Facts as well as the prospectus before investing in ETFs and information folder, contract and fund facts before investing in segregated fund contracts. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Any amount that is allocated to a segregated fund is invested at the risk of the contract holder and may increase or decrease in value. Manulife, Manulife Investment Management, the Stylized M Design, and Manulife Investment Management & Stylized M Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 19 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We’re committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2021, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 119,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 33 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.