Cogent Reports gives John Hancock Investment Management high marks among retirement plan advisors

Ranks firm in top five for DC market expertise, brand recognition

BOSTON, December 7, 2017—A recent study ranked John Hancock Investment Management as one of the top five firms for brand strength among retirement plan advisors. The Retirement Plan Advisor Trends™ study by Market Strategies International found that retirement expertise and broader product consideration gave five asset managers, including John Hancock Investment Management, an edge among plan advisors.

With specialization in target-date funds and retirement income products, John Hancock Investment Management, the study found, had a more formidable brand presence in the defined contribution investment only (DCIO) market than in the broader retail advisory market.

Established and emerging DC advisors ranked John Hancock Investment Management 4th in unaided consideration of the top DC investment managers. While John Hancock ranks 13th in brand equity in the mutual fund retail market, Cogent ranked the firm 5th among DC investment managers.

“Instead of striving to be all things to all advisors, these five firms are doing an excellent job playing to their strengths and offering competitive solutions for the workplace retirement market,” said Sonia Sharigian, product director at Market Strategies and author of the report. “A closer look at consideration by product reveals these firms are carving out a distinct advantage within the target-date funds and retirement income categories.”

“To receive this recognition is very gratifying, as we’ve worked hard over the past several years to ensure that our target-date funds are well positioned for the DC market,” said Andrew G. Arnott, president and CEO of John Hancock Investment Management. “We offer multiple glide paths to suit the differing needs of shareholders, we’ve renamed our fund series to make clear the fact that they’re multimanaged, and we’ve lowered fees to ensure our funds are competitively priced.”

“Our target-date fund sales have more than doubled in 2017, reflecting our efforts to provide innovative retirement income solutions for advisors and their clients,” said Todd J. Cassler, president of Financial Institutions and Advisory Solutions for John Hancock Investment Management.

About Retirement Plan Advisor Trends 
Cogent Reports conducted an online survey of a representative cross section of 514 plan advisors July through August 2017. Survey participants were required to have an active book of business of at least $5 million and be actively managing DC plans. Strict quotas were set during the data collection period, and postfielding statistical weighting (where necessary) was applied. The data has a margin of error of ±4.32% at the 95% confidence level. Market Strategies will supply the exact wording of any survey questions on request. Please call 734-542-7600.

About John Hancock Investment Management
John Hancock has helped individuals and institutions build and protect wealth since 1862. Today, we are one of the strongest and most-recognized financial brands. We serve investors globally through a unique multimanager approach: We search the world to find proven portfolio teams with specialized expertise for every strategy we offer, then we apply robust investment oversight to ensure they continue to meet our uncompromising standards and serve the best interests of our shareholders. Our approach to asset management has led to a diverse set of investments deeply rooted in investor needs, along with strong risk-adjusted returns across asset classes.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
John Hancock is a division of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services group that helps people achieve their dreams and aspirations by putting customers’ needs first and providing the right advice and solutions. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups, and institutions. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were over CAD$1 trillion (US$806 billion) as of September 30, 2017. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com.

One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports approximately 10 million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, and college savings plans. We also offer advice through Signator, a network of independent financial advisors. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.