2010 News Releases

Hong Kong - Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited and Kotak Mahindra (UK) Limited have agreed to collaborate with respect to fund management and distribution opportunities in Asia.

Manulife is one of the world’s leading financial services organisations with a wide footprint and well-established businesses in Asia. Kotak is a leading banking and financial services group in India, headquartered in Mumbai.  The move is key to Manulife significantly enhancing its investment management capabilities in Asia’s second largest capital market. It also gives Kotak access to Manulife’s Asian and global investment capabilities, and creates attractive cross-distribution opportunities for both parties, both in the institutional and retail wealth management arenas.

Upon completion of final agreements and subject to necessary regulatory approvals, Manulife’s investment management division, MFC Global Investment Management will have access to Kotak's investment expertise for the Indian portion of its Asia Pacific equity strategies. India is growing in significance for many regional investors due to its increasing weighting in Asia Pacific benchmarks, representing up to 15% of some regional indices. MFC Global Investment Management believes that access to timely, local insight is vital in generating an information advantage in this dynamic market. It currently manages over USD33 billion in Asia, of which USD8.3 billion is in equities¹ and almost USD1 billion in Asia Pacific equity strategies².  The company has over 110 investment professionals spread across 10 countries in Asia.

Manulife plans to include Kotak-advised product on its open architecture platforms across the region.

Mr. Philip Hampden-Smith, Executive Vice President & General Manager, South East Asia Operations of Manulife, said: “Kotak is one of India’s premiere wealth and asset management companies. Manulife has market leading insurance and investment businesses in Greater China and across ASEAN region. We see considerable opportunity in leveraging our complimentary skill-sets in these rapidly evolving capital markets. We will work with Kotak  to create quality and forward-thinking wealth management products and services, that cater for our clients’ increasingly sophisticated financial needs both across the region, and globally.” 

Commenting on this development, Mr. C. Jayaram, Executive Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Manulife a large and well respected financial institution with a strong presence across Asia. As the Indian financial services industry continues its high growth trajectory, this is a significant opportunity for the two financial majors to leverage their parallel strengths.” 

Kotak has over USD10 billion in assets under management/advisory and has won numerous awards for their fund performance. One of their funds, Kotak Liquid, was rated 7-Star while three others were rated 5-Star at the ICRA 2009 Mutual Fund awards³. Kotak has a large team of 47 portfolio managers and 8 advisors covering a range of asset classes including equity, debt and alternatives. A team of 55 analysts cover more than 30 sectors in the Indian market.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 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 life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$454 billion (US$428 billion) as at June 30, 2010. 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.

About MFC Global Investment Management

MFC Global Investment Management® is the asset management division of Manulife Financial. MFC Global Investment Management’s diversified group of companies provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors, investment funds and individuals in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as oil and gas, real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies

About Kotak

Kotak Mahindra group is one of India's leading financial services conglomerates, offering a wide range of financial services that encompass every sphere of life. From commercial banking, to retail banking, to stock broking, to asset management, to life insurance, to investment banking, the group caters to the financial needs of individuals and corporates. The group manages 10 billion USD globally as of June 30, 2010.

The group, with a net worth of 1.70 billion USD, has a distribution network of 1,800 branches, franchisees, representative offices and satellite offices across 350 cities and towns in India and offices in New York, California, London, Dubai, Bahrain, Mauritius and Singapore, servicing over 7 million customer accounts.

Notes to editors:

¹ As at May 31, 2010

² As at June 30, 2010

³ As at December 31, 2009. For rating methodology visit www.icraonline.com

For more information, please contact: