Morten Simonsen To Lead Northern European Business Expansion For Manulife Asset Management

LONDON, Nov. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing effort to bring differentiated investment strategies to new markets and to support its European expansion effort, Manulife Asset Management (MAM) has named Morten Simonsen as Managing Director and Head of Distribution for Northern Europe.

He will be responsible for leading business development in Northern Europe, including introducing the full range of MAM's public and private markets capabilities to clients across the institutional and wholesale spaces in this key European region.

Mr. Simonsen, whose appointment was effective on October 1, will report to Marco Zanuso, Head of Distribution, EMEA at Manulife Asset Management.

"We are delighted that Morten has joined the team to help build the business as well as to manage and grow the local team. Morten has an excellent reputation and relationships in the Nordics," said Mr. Zanuso. "His experience and local knowledge will help us to better meet the needs of our clients and further drive our growth in Europe."

Mr. Simonsen, who has worked specifically in the Nordics for twenty years, was previously with Pioneer Investments where he served as Head of Nordic Region and CEO, Denmark. Prior to that he was Head of Nordic Region with Pinebridge Investments. He has extensive experience in public markets, hedge funds and real assets.

Mr. Simonsen said he expects MAM's actively managed traditional asset classes will be attractive in the region. He also sees growing demand for liquid alternatives as well as private market capabilities including real estate, infrastructure, timber and farmland.

"Manulife Asset Management has strong capabilities across the investment spectrum and we see tremendous opportunities to provide investment solutions to clients in the Nordics," said Todd Cassler, Head of Institutional Distribution, U.S., Europe and Latin America at Manulife Asset Management.

About Manulife Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial Corporation ("Manulife"). We provide comprehensive asset management solutions for investors across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. We also provide portfolio management for affiliated retail Manulife and John Hancock product offerings.

Our investment expertise includes public and private equity and fixed income, real estate and infrastructure equity and debt, timberland and farmland, oil and gas, and mezzanine debt. We operate in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, as well as through a China joint venture, Manulife TEDA. We also serve investors in select European, Middle Eastern, and Latin American markets.

As at September 30, 2018, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$509 billion (US$393 billion, GBP£301 billion, EUR€339 billion). Additional information may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2017, we had about 35,000 employees, 73,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 26 million customers. As of September 30, 2018, we had over $1.1 trillion (US$863 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $27.6 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 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

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