WATERLOO, ON, June 5, 2003 – Investor statements for Manulife Financial’s family of segregated funds in Canada ranked as the best in the country, according to a report by DALBAR.
In assessing investor statements, DALBAR grades financial statements according to their success in meeting various investor needs and preferences.
Manulife’s segregated fund statements also ranked first in DALBAR’s initial review of Canadian segregated fund statements in 2001. DALBAR rankings of mutual fund and brokerage statements have helped to measure and raise standards for investor communications in Canada and the United States.
“Even in the face of improvements in other companies’ statements, Manulife remains at the top,” says Mark McDonald, Client Relationship Manager with DALBAR’s Canadian office. “Manulife is a leader because they are effective at addressing the important statement needs of investors.”
Key features required in segregated fund statements noted by DALBAR were:
- Visual display of information with graphs and charts;
- Effective display of guaranteed amounts, and
- Account performance with personalized rates of return.
“We’re very pleased that our segregated fund investor statement has once again topped the industry in DALBAR’s rankings,” says Roy Firth, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management for Manulife Financial. “The statement reflects Manulife’s focus on customers and we’re always working toward a greater understanding of how we can meet their needs.”
The investor statement for GIF and GIF encore (formerly Manulife Insured Portfolio Funds) is a continuation of a focused program of investor-directed activity for Manulife, which has extensively researched customer preferences in segregated funds.
DALBAR Inc.
DALBAR, Inc., the nation’s leading financial-services market research firm, continues its over 25 year commitment to raising the standards of excellence in the industry. With offices in both the US and Canada, DALBAR develops standards for, and provides research, ratings, and rankings of intangible factors to the mutual fund, broker/dealer, managed account, life insurance and property and casualty insurance industries. They include behavior, customer opinion, service quality, communications, Internet services, and financial-professional ratings. DALBAR can be found on the Internet at www.dalbar.com.
Manulife Investments
Manulife Investments is the brand name identifying the personal wealth management lines of business offered by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries in Canada. As one of Canada’s leading integrated financial services providers, Manulife Investments offers a variety of products and services including: segregated funds, mutual funds, annuities and guaranteed interest contracts.
Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 15 countries and territories worldwide. Through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners, Manulife Financial offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services. Funds under management by Manulife Financial were Cdn$141.6 billion as at March 31, 2003.
Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘0945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.
