2010 Communiqués de presse

Hong Kong - MFC Global Investment Management (Asia) – ‘MFC GIM (Asia)’ – has appointed Edwina Ho as Head of Institutional Sales, North Asia, effective March 22, 2010. 

In this newly-created role to be based in Hong Kong, Edwina will drive MFC GIM (Asia)’s business development efforts with central banks, sovereign wealth and pension funds, quasi-government organizations, insurance companies and major corporations in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. She will also lead the company’s first foray into the institutional market in South Korea.

In addition to the above, Edwina will oversee institutional client servicing in these markets and manage the development of MFC GIM (Asia)’s institutional sales team in the individual markets in North Asia. In the coming months, the company is looking to have a dedicated institutional sales professional on-the-ground in Taiwan and expects to make further local hires in North Asia over the next year.

Edwina joins MFC GIM (Asia) from Macquarie Funds Group in Hong Kong where she was Head of Institutional Business, overseeing relationships with Asian sovereign wealth funds, government-linked entities, pension funds and financial corporations. Prior to that, she held senior institutional sales positions in the investment management divisions of ING and Citigroup in Hong Kong and has managed institutional sales and marketing for Goldman Sachs Asset Management in Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Avere Hill, Head of Institutional Sales and Marketing at MFC GIM (Asia) explains: “China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea alone account for nearly US$10trillion¹ in institutional assets and the creation of this new North Asia institutional sales role is in direct recognition of the enormous potential of this part of the region. We expect the institutional investment market in North Asia to be a driving force of growth for asset managers in the next decade and to present unlimited opportunities for those managers with comprehensive investment expertise, regional experience and a focus on client servicing.”

He continues: “In order to effectively tap into this market potential, we believe asset managers need to build strong institutional sales and client servicing teams not just in regional hubs but deeply embedded in the markets they serve. This is a key focus for MFC GIM going forward and Edwina’s extensive skills and expertise as well as her in-depth knowledge of these markets will be invaluable to our efforts to build long-term partnerships with institutions in North Asia.”

Edwina’s appointment comes at a strategically important time for the company’s institutional sales efforts in North Asia. It follows the announcement that the company² is to buy a 49% stake in Beijing-based asset manager ABN AMRO TEDA and the granting of a QFII license in November 2009.

The appointment also follows significant new product launches in Taiwan and Hong Kong with the IPO of a new Asia Pacific Bond Fund and Asia Pacific Mid and Small Cap Fund in Taiwan and Asia Total Return Fund in Hong Kong in 2009. These funds, along with the company’s Greater China equity strategies, form a key part of the MFC GIM’s institutional investment offering.

MFC GIM has US$28 billion in assets under management in Asia as at December 31^st 2009, including US$9billion managed for external institutional clients.

 Notes to editors:

¹Source: AsianInvestor September 2009 - The Asian Investor 200 by Market. Figure combines Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and South Korea.

² Manulife Asset Management Hong Kong. MFC Global Investment Management is a division of Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong)

About MFC Global Investment Management

MFC Global Investment Management® is the asset management division of Manulife Financial. MFC Global Investment Management’s diversified group of companies provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors, investment funds and individuals in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as oil and gas, real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

MFC Global Investment Management has investment offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout Asia. Additional information about MFC Global Investment Management may be found at www.mfcglobal.com.

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