Manulife Announces Refreshed Enterprise Strategy to Deliver Sustainable, Long-Term Growth
Introduces new ambition to be number one choice for customers, supported by five new and elevated strategic priorities
Builds on strong foundation and momentum by accelerating action on longevity, will expand global footprint to India
November 12, 2025
Toronto - Manulife today introduced a refreshed strategy featuring new and elevated strategic priorities that build on its strengths and are anchored in an ambition to be the number one choice for customers.
Manulife poised to capture opportunities in a rapidly changing operating environment
The global financial landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Heightened market volatility, global economic uncertainty, increasing consumer digital expectations, and intensifying competition for talent and distribution are reshaping the industry.
Manulife is well-positioned to thrive in this environment. The company is diversified by business and across geographies, recognized for industry-leading AI capabilities and top-quartile employee engagement, and maintains robust presence across high-growth markets in Asia and more mature markets in North America.
To remain agile and position the organization to continue capitalizing on emerging opportunities and generate long-term value, Manulife is refreshing its strategy. This strategy further strengthens the company’s ability to deliver on its 2027 financial targets, which include: Core return on equity (ROE) of 18%+ by 2027; Cumulative remittances of $22 billion+ between 2024 and 2027; and Asia region core earnings contribution of 50%.
“We see tremendous growth potential across our entire portfolio and our refreshed strategy positions us to capture these opportunities for the next decade and beyond as we become the number one choice for customers,” said Phil Witherington, President and CEO, Manulife. “While we are pleased with our momentum towards our 2027 targets, we’re taking actions to ensure we look past that horizon to deliver for all of our stakeholders for the long-term. Today and tomorrow our purpose remains unchanged: to make decisions easier and lives better for our more than 36 million customers around the world.”
Introducing new and elevated strategic priorities to power Manulife’s next chapter of high quality, sustainable growth.
Manulife will deliver on its ambition through five new and elevated strategic priorities. These build on the company’s strong foundation and carry through strategic continuity, all while capturing necessary change to position the organization for the future:
Winning Team and Culture: Manulife will strengthen their culture of performance, inclusion, and continuous learning while investing in the skills and leadership needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world – positioning the organization as a magnet for top talent.
Diversified Business Portfolio: Manulife remains well-positioned to capture the exceptional growth opportunities across Asia and Global WAM, and this will be accompanied by investment to further strengthen and grow in its home market of Canada, and investment to deliver new business growth and sustain a scaled presence in the U.S.
Empowering Customer Health, Wealth, and Longevity: Manulife will deliver a differentiated value proposition by leveraging strengths in product, digital innovation, and partnerships to become the most trusted partner for customers’ health, wealth, and financial well-being.
AI-Powered Organization: Manulife will build on its leadership position integrating AI-powered solutions at scale to create value, drive growth and even greater efficiency, and provide world-leading experiences for our customers.
Superior Distribution: Manulife will make it easier for customers to buy, advisors to sell, and partners to grow by expanding and optimizing channels across its entire portfolio while utilizing AI to enhance distribution and provide frictionless customer interactions.
Expense efficiency and portfolio optimization remain embedded across the business. As the company executes on these priorities, it expects to deliver growth to build on total shareholder return momentum.
Manulife’s refreshed strategic priorities are grounded in the megatrends that will define the future of insurance and asset management, and the company is taking immediate action to ensure it is well positioned to drive impact and expand to capture growth opportunities.
Health, wealth and longevity
As global populations live longer, the gaps in retirement and health protection are widening – creating significant opportunities to deliver shared value across customer lifespans.
Manulife is taking action with the launch of the Manulife Longevity Institute, a global research, advocacy, and community investment platform backed by a $350 million commitment through 2030 to help people live longer, healthier, and more financially secure lives.
Expanding global footprint across the mega-economies of the future
Already operating in markets that generate approximately 60% of global life insurance premiums, with strong, scaled positions in the U.S. and China, Manulife today announced its planned expansion to capture growth in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies: India.
Through a joint venture with Mahindra, a trusted and existing partner through an asset management relationship, Manulife is entering the India insurance market[1]. This partnership will position Manulife to grow across all three of the world’s most influential economies and deliver long-term value.
Our expansion into the India insurance market will mark an important step to further strengthen our diversified global footprint – and we’re pleased to be entering a market that offers remarkable growth potential,” said Witherington. “In addition to sustaining momentum across Asia and Global WAM, to achieve our ambition we will make strategic organic investments in all of our segments. In Canada, we see attractive growth opportunities and our aspiration to be the undisputed insurance leader in our home market remains clear. And in the US, we will deliver sustained scale by broadening our offerings and expanding our customer base. I have incredible confidence in our path forward as we deliver this strategy.”
For more information on Manulife’s refreshed strategy: watch a detailed explainer video featuring Phil Witherington here, read the video transcript and view the accompanying strategy slide deck here, and visit Manulife.com for more.
[1] "Subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2023, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 35 million customers. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong.
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