TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management has announced that Roger Renaud will become President, Canada, upon close of Manulife's acquisition of the Canadian-based assets of Standard Life Plc. Agreement on the transaction was announced in September of 2014; closing is expected the evening of January 30, 2015.

Mr. Renaud was President of Standard Life Investments Inc. in Canada prior to the Manulife acquisition announcement, having held that post since 2005. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Group Savings and Retirement, at Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and also served as Vice President, Sales, at Standard Life Mutual Funds. He joined the company in 1991.

The position of President, Canada, is a new one for Manulife Asset Management. Mr. Renaud will report to Kai Sotorp, President and CEO of Manulife Asset Management, who also is Manulife's Executive Vice President and Global Head for Wealth and Asset Management. Mr. Renaud will join the Manulife Asset Management executive committee.

"Roger will drive a client-centric, solutions-oriented approach to leading our Canadian franchise, one that he executed well at Standard Life Investments and will continue to expand at Manulife Asset Management," said Mr. Sotorp. "He will draw on his broad background to evolve our Canadian business model to meet our long-term asset management goals, and ensure that we have the focus and resources to facilitate our ambitious growth plans in this important and growing market."

In addition to leading the development and implementation of Manulife's asset management strategy and business in Canada, Mr. Renaud will assist in the integration of Standard Life Investment's Canadian operations into Manulife Asset Management. As part of his responsibilities in leading the Canadian asset management business, he will also work closely with Manulife's Canadian Division to further grow Manulife's successful wealth business.

Prior to joining Standard Life, Mr. Renaud was a vice president at First Marathon. A CFA, he holds a B. Sc. in Actuarial Science from Universite Laval, and also completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. He is a board member of Finance Montreal and Theatre D'Aujourd'hui.

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife, providing 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 public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. As at September 30, 2014, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$309 billion (US$276 billion).

Manulife Asset Management's public markets units have investment expertise across a broad range of asset classes including public equity and fixed income, and asset allocation strategies. Offices with full investment capabilities are located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In addition, Manulife Asset Management has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. The public markets units of Manulife Asset Management also provide investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. John Hancock Asset Management and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management.

Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife

Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world. We provide strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for our customers' significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$663 billion (US$591 billion) as at September 30, 2014.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

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SOURCE Manulife Asset Management