Manulife Financial has added 15 new funds to the investment options offered in its group savings plans.

“We are committed to offering a broad range of fund managers, funds, investing styles and asset classes to meet the diverse needs of our clients,” said Catherine Owens, vice president, Pension Marketing and Business Development, Manulife Canadian Pension Operations. Owens noted that group pension clients can now choose from 61 funds.

“These additions introduce new asset classes, that allow plan members to take advantage of a broader range of investing opportunities, and personalize their portfolios to meet their specific investment style and retirement goals. For those members who prefer not to actively choose and monitor their investments, we offer a selection of 10 Asset Allocation funds.”

The new funds were selected using the comprehensive Manulife investment selection and review process known as Investment Watch.

Manulife added three new fund partners in September, in a move to broaden the selection of investment styles and asset classes. The new partners are: Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd.; Knight, Bain, Seath & Holbrook Capital Management Inc.; and Perigee Investment Counsel Inc.

The funds from these partners include:

  • Manulife Jarislowsky Fraser Balanced Fund (available to clients in registered plans)
  • Manulife Jarislowsky Fraser Canadian Equity Fund
  • Manulife Jarislowsky Fraser International Equity Fund
  • Manulife KBSH Balanced Pooled Fund
  • Manulife KBSH Canadian Growth Equity Fund
  • Manulife KBSH Pacific Basin Equity Fund
  • Manulife Perigee Symmetry Balanced Fund
  • Manulife Perigee Canadian Select 35 Equity Fund
  • Manulife Legg Mason U.S. Value Fund

The new funds added from current managers are:

  • Alliance Bernstein Manulife U.S. Equity Fund
  • Elliott & Page Limited Manulife Canadian Bond Index Fund
  • Franklin Templeton Investments Manulife International Equity Fund
  • J.Zechner Associates Manulife Canadian Large Cap Top Down Equity Fund.

Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd. is adding two new funds:

  • Manulife Sceptre Global Equity Fund (Putman Investments)
  • Manulife Canadian Large Cap Blend Equity Fund (*) This fund is currently available for CIO clients and is new to GRO clients.