Manulife Investment Management adds portfolio manager to Core and Core Plus Bond strategies to sustain and build on recent growth

Firm attributes growth to deep investment talent, independent thinking, and global resources

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BOSTON, April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - After an extensive review and selection process, Manulife Investment Management is pleased to announce the addition of Pranay Sonalkar to the portfolio management team for the Core and Core Plus Fixed-Income strategies. Pranay joins Howard C. Greene, CFA, and Jeffrey N. Given, CFA—both 25-plus-year industry veterans—as an associate portfolio manager on the strategies, including subadvised management of several John Hancock funds such as: John Hancock Bond Fund, John Hancock Investment Grade Bond Fund and John Hancock Corporate Bond ETF.

"Manulife Investment Management's fixed-income team is an exceptionally well-resourced, globally integrated group with more than 145 investment professionals working in 15 locations around the globe. As a result, we're in a great position to identify rising talent within our organization," said John F. Addeo, CFA, CIO, global fixed-income. "And given the growth and continued strong performance of the core and core plus strategies during Howard's and Jeff's tenure, we wanted to be confident they have the resources they need to continue to perform at such a high level."

Before joining the portfolio management team, Pranay served as a credit research analyst and sector team leader with the firm, responsible for coverage of the industrial, utility, and energy sectors. Prior to joining the company, he was a lead credit analyst with Standard & Poor's on various chemical and environmental services issuers and before that a sell-side credit analyst assisting with coverage of multiple sectors for Barclays Capital in New York and London.

As an analyst with Manulife Investment Management, Pranay also played a central role in the development and implementation of the public markets proprietary ESG credit rating system for the fixed-income research team. Globally, the company has taken on the ambitious goal of fully integrating ESG analysis into every strategy and fund they offer and Pranay's experience will be valuable to the U.S. Core Fixed-Income team as they continue to deliver against this firm-wide initiative.

The addition of Pranay comes on the heels of several years of steady growth for the institutional strategies and retail products overseen by the U.S. Core Fixed-Income team; as of 12/31/20, assets under management by the team were more than US$52 billion across channels. The management team has also grown their reach and responsibilities with the launch of a new short-duration product as well as a number of new investment vehicles; in the past two years, the team was tapped to manage newly created CITs, SMAs, and ETFs, all of which help expand plan sponsors' and advisors' access to the strategies.

"We've worked closely with Pranay for several years now, and we've been consistently impressed by his work as an analyst," said Howard Greene. "We're thrilled to be welcoming him into his new role on the portfolio management team, and this is the perfect time for us to do so. We're proud of the track record we've built for our investors over the years and we want to be sure the team is well positioned today to support continued growth in the years to come."

In connection with Pranay's transition to his portfolio management role, Casey Curtin, currently an investment research analyst, has been promoted and will join the fixed-income team as a credit research analyst on April 12.

A long track record of strong performance

The Core and Core Plus strategies have a long track record of strong performance. The investment team has consistently leveraged their own distinct talents along with the broader strengths of Manulife Investment Management to deliver strong performance. As of March 31, 2021:

• The mutual funds, John Hancock Bond Fund and John Hancock Investment Grade Bond Fund, Class I shares, carry 5-star and 4-star ratings from Morningstar and have top 15% Morningstar percentile rankings for the past 10 years in the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond and Intermediate Core Bond categories, respectively.*
• The Core and Core Plus Separately Managed Accounts (SMA) each carry a Bronze Morningstar analyst rating.**
• John Hancock Bond Fund, Class I shares, carries a Silver Morningstar analyst rating, as of August 31, 2020.**

About Manulife Investment Management 

Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.  

As of December 31, 2020, Manulife Investment Management had CAD$966 billion (US$758 billion) in assets under management and administration.*** Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com. 

*©2021 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. 

All funds may experience periods of negative performance.

The John Hancock Bond Fund, Class I shares, was rated 4, 4, and 5 stars out of 540, 476 and 342 funds for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively. The John Hancock Investment Grade Bond Fund, Class I shares, was rated 4, 4, and 4 stars out of 385, 337 and 255 funds for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively.

For each managed product, including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts, with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. Exchange-traded funds and open-end mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. The top 10.0% of funds in each category, the next 22.5%, 35.0%, 22.5%, and bottom 10.0% receive 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 star(s), respectively. The overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The rating formula most heavily weights the 3-year rating, using the following calculation: 100% 3-year rating for 36 to 59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60 to 119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. Star ratings do not reflect the effect of any applicable sales load. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Rankings of other share classes will vary.

Rankings are based on total return and do not account for sales charges. The fund's absolute peer ranking may not be available for all time periods. Morningstar does not calculate an absolute peer ranking when a fund's performance has been linked to a preexisting share class. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Rankings of other share classes will vary. The John Hancock Bond Fund, Class I shares, ranked 33% (202 of 597), 17% (83 of 476), and 7% (16 of 342) for the 1-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively. The John Hancock Investment Grade Bond Fund, Class I shares, ranked 22% (102 of 421), 14% (58 of 337, and 11% (24 of 255) for the 1-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively.

**The Morningstar Analyst Rating™ is not a credit or risk rating. It is a subjective evaluation performed by Morningstar's manager research group, which consists of various Morningstar, Inc. subsidiaries (manager research group). In the United States, that subsidiary is Morningstar Research Services LLC, which is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The manager research group evaluates funds based on five key pillars, which are process, performance, people, parent, and price. The manager research group uses this five pillar evaluation to determine how they believe funds are likely to perform relative to a benchmark or, in the case of exchange-traded funds and index mutual funds, a relevant peer group, over the long term on a risk-adjusted basis. They consider quantitative and qualitative factors in their research, and the weight of each pillar may vary. The Analyst Rating scale is gold, silver, bronze, neutral, and negative. A Morningstar Analyst Rating of gold, silver, or bronze reflects the manager research group's conviction in a fund's prospects for outperformance. Analyst Ratings ultimately reflect the manager research group's overall assessment, are overseen by an Analyst Rating Committee, and are continuously monitored and reevaluated at least every 14 months. For more detailed information about the Morningstar Analyst Rating, including its methodology, please go to global.morningstar.com/managerdisclosures/.

*** Source: MFC Statistical Information Package.

For the John Hancock Bond Fund and John Hancock Investment Grade Bond Fund:

Fixed-income investments are subject to interest-rate and credit risk; their value will normally decline as interest rates rise or if an issuer is unable or unwilling to make principal or interest payments. Investments in higher-yielding, lower-rated securities include a higher risk of default. Foreign investing, especially in emerging markets, has additional risks, such as currency and market volatility and political and social instability. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be sensitive to changes in interest rates, and may be subject to early repayment and the market's perception of issuer creditworthiness. Liquidity—the extent to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively affecting its market value, if at all— may be impaired by reduced trading volume, heightened volatility, rising interest rates, and other market conditions. The use of hedging and derivatives could produce disproportionate gains or losses and may increase costs. Fund distributions generally depend on income from underlying investments and may vary or cease altogether in the future. Please see the fund's prospectus for additional risks.

The mutual funds are distributed in the United States by John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC • Member FINRA, SIPC • 200 Berkeley Street • Boston, MA 02116.

Request a prospectus or summary prospectus from your financial professional, by visiting jhinvestments.com, or by calling us at 800-225-5291. The prospectus includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information that you should consider carefully before investing.

For John Hancock Corporate Bond ETF:

John Hancock Corporate Bond ETF is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC in the United States, and is subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC or Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC.

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SOURCE Manulife Investment Management