Manulife Asset Management Names New U.S. Core Value Equity Team

BOSTON, Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management has expanded its capabilities in U.S. large cap value investing by naming Walter T. McCormick, CFA, and Emory W. (Sandy) Sanders, Jr., CFA, to lead a new Boston-based Core Value Equity team.  

Mr. McCormick and Mr. Sanders, both Senior Managing Directors and Senior Portfolio Managers, will manage large cap value, large cap core, and all cap core strategies for external institutional clients and for certain wealth management businesses of John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial. The team's investment expertise and continuity will be strengthened by two additional hires: Gary Mishuris, CFA, Managing Director and Senior Analyst; and Jonathan White, CFA, Managing Director and Senior Analyst.  The team will report to Christopher Conkey, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Global Equities, Manulife Asset Management.  

"Creation of this new team is a significant step in broadening our U.S. value equity capabilities, with particular emphasis on the large cap space," Mr. Conkey said. "In addition to managing several newly seeded funds, the team will also assume responsibility for managing certain funds on wealth management product platforms for John Hancock through our John Hancock Asset Management division, as well as management of pooled U.S. large cap value and U.S. large cap core strategies for Manulife Asset Management around the world."

J-F Courville, President and CEO of Manulife Asset Management, said, "We welcome Walter, Sandy, Gary and Jonathan to Manulife Asset Management, and look forward to adding their depth of investment experience and knowledge to our strong and focused portfolio management team for the benefit of our clients."

Mr. McCormick and Mr. Sanders join Manulife Asset Management from Wells Capital Management in Boston, where they managed large cap value and large cap core strategies.  Their team employs a fundamentally-oriented investment process marked by a rigorous analytical approach which seeks to identify differentiated companies with sustainable competitive advantages, superior cash flow generation capabilities and attractive valuations. Their process seeks investment opportunities over relatively long-time horizons.  

Mr. McCormick most recently was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager with the Berkeley Street Equity team at Wells Capital Management. He joined Wells Capital when it acquired Evergreen Investments, where he had served in a similar role since 2002. Earlier, he served as head of the Large Cap Core Growth team at Keystone Investments, which was subsequently merged into Evergreen Investments, and head of the Large Cap Value team at David L. Babson & Co. He began his investment industry career in 1970. Mr. McCormick earned a bachelor's degree from Providence College, an MBA from Rutgers University, and is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  

Mr. Sanders most recently was a Director, Portfolio Manager and Senior Equity Analyst with the Large Cap equity research team at Wells Capital Management. He joined Wells Capital from Evergreen Investments, where he had served in a similar role since beginning his investment management career in 1997.  He is a graduate of the University of Vermont, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management™ is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management and its affiliates provide comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.