Manulife Mutual Funds Wins Two Canadian Lipper 2012 Fund Awards

TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Mutual Funds won two individual awards at the 2012 Canadian Lipper Fund Awards ceremony, held in Toronto last night.

For the second year in a row, the Manulife Structured Bond Class Advisor Series was recognized within the Canadian Fixed Income Balanced category for providing consistent strong risk-adjusted performance relative to its peers over a five-year period.

In the International Equity category, the Manulife International Dividend Income Fund Advisor Series won for excellence over a one-year time period.

"Continued recognition by Lipper is a source of pride for all of us at Manulife Mutual Funds, and we again congratulate our portfolio managers for their consistent performance, leadership and vision," said Paul Lorentz, President of Manulife Investments. "Our investment managers share our goal and commitment to delivering strong and consistent risk-adjusted returns for our clients."

The Manulife Structured Bond Class is managed by Terry Carr, CFA, of Manulife Asset Management, the asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Primarily invested in Canadian corporate and government bonds with additional exposure to equities, the Fund was launched in October of 2003.

The Manulife International Dividend Income Fund is managed by Duncan Anderson, Chris Hensen, Prakash Chaudhari and Alan Wicks, also of Manulife Asset Management. Launched in November 1993, the fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing in strong dividend-paying companies operating in world markets with head offices outside North America.

"We are continually focused on our commitment to producing excellent long-term investment value for our clients," said J-F Courville, President and CEO of Manulife Asset Management. "It is gratifying to once again accept these awards, which reflect the success of our efforts."