Manulife Financial has launched an asset allocation tool to help advisors across Canada choose universal life accounts that correspond to their client’s personal risk profile.

“Advisors have told us that they want help in selecting investment accounts at the time of sale for their client and they also want accounts that are easy to manage once the policy is in effect,” said Paul Lorentz, Manulife’s vp product and marketing, individual insurance.

Manulife’s new tool is called UL Simplicity Select. It’s an online tool that helps advisors determine their client’s investment risk profile and then automatically chooses the Simplicity Portfolio Account that corresponds to that risk.

Starting from Manulife’s advisor Web site, advisors simply fill out the risk profile with clients. Then, based on the profile, the tool automatically selects the appropriate Simplicity Portfolio Account for the client. If the client’s profile indicates they’d like a balanced approach to investing, the Simplicity Balanced Portfolio Account is recommended.

“We believe this tool will change the way advisors recommend universal life investment accounts,” said Lorentz.

UL Simplicity Select is the first tool of its kind in the universal life insurance industry. The tool selects the account that corresponds to the client’s risk profile, then creates a customized report for clients that summarizes the investment recommendation. Advisors can give this report to clients and use it for future discussions.

“The report can help advisors feel confident they have provided a recommendation that is consistent with their client’s expectations,” Lorentz said.

UL Simplicity Select became available December 3, 2005 for Manulife’s InnoVision and previously sold UL100 policies.