Manulife Financial Corporation

This is our first report on Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading financial products and services provider. Despite a difficult market and operating environment, Manulife produced strong core earnings and sustained an increase in adjusted book value per share. The company is encouraged by the momentum developing in Asia and the significant core profits increase in its North American insurance businesses. Net income of $1.4 billion remained consistent with the previous year’s quarter. In the quarter, Manulife created a new company value worth $509 million. APE sales also grew significantly due to sales growth in Asia. Throughout the first quarter, sales momentum gained strength. In Global WAM, their geographically and business line-diversified operations continue to provide good results in a difficult market, delivering solid net inflows. Their long-term investing performance is also strong. Furthermore, Manulife Investment Management has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Serverfarm on behalf of Manulife Infrastructure Fund II and its affiliates. These outstanding results demonstrate the strength and global variety of the company. We initiate coverage on the stock of Manulife Financial Corporation with a ‘Buy’ rating.