Manulife Investment Management Announces Reduction of Management Fees on Three Mutual Funds and Three Upcoming Fund Terminati...

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TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2021 /CNW/ - Manulife Investment Management announces a reduction of management fees on three global equity funds and the termination of three mutual funds. These changes will help streamline our platform of actively managed investments and further our commitment to offering diverse, strong-performing products to help investors achieve their goals.

Reduction of Management Fees

A reduction of management fees on the following series of three mutual funds will be effective on or about March 1, 2021:

Fund Name	Series	Existing Management Fee (%)	New Management Fee (%)
Manulife Global Equity Class	Advisor Series/ Series T	1.95%	1.82%
	Series F/Series FT	0.85%	0.72%
Manulife Global Thematic Opportunities Fund	Advisor Series/ Series T	1.95%	1.82%
	Series F/Series FT	0.85%	0.72%
Manulife Global Thematic Opportunities Class	Advisor Series/ Series T	2.00%	1.87%
	Series F/Series FT	0.90%	0.77%

It is expected that the reduction in management fees should have a corresponding impact on the management expense ratio of the funds over time.

"Delivering the best value possible to Canadian investors is a priority for us," said Leo Zerilli, Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Canada. "Our team constantly monitors our fund lineup and identified an opportunity to improve our pricing on certain products within the global equity category."

Fund Terminations

Effective on or about June 28, 2021, Manulife Investment Management will terminate the following funds and distribute the proceeds to securityholders of record on that date. The planned terminations include:

• Manulife Fundamental Dividend Class
• Manulife Global Dividend Growth Class
• Manulife Global Real Estate Unconstrained Fund

Prospectus qualified securities of the terminating funds will no longer be available for new purchases effective as of 4 p.m. ET on March 3, 2021. This includes purchases through automatic investment services such as pre-authorized chequing plans or automatic rebalancing services. 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.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is 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 17 countries and territories. 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. 

As of December 31, 2020, Manulife Investment Management had CAD$966 billion (US$758 billion) in assets under management and administration. 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 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 2020, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 118,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 30 million customers. As of December 31, 2020, we had $1.3 trillion (US$1.0 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $31.6 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.

SOURCE Manulife Investment Management

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