Manulife Mutual Funds reports it has received regulatory approval to launch a new suite of retail mutual funds. Manulife Mawer Funds are now available on an exclusive basis through financial advisors.

This new suite of funds provides Manulife with the ability to offer Canadian investors seven investment mandates that capture the investment expertise and exceptional investment performance of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer has been a subadvisor for Manulife since 2005 overseeing the Manulife Tax-Managed Growth Fund and more recently the Manulife World Investment Class in 2006. This exclusive partnership extends this working relationship by introducing five new Manulife Mawer mutual funds and rebrands the two existing Manulife funds within the Manulife Mawer family.

In addition to providing investors and their advisors with an additional layer of choice, this exclusive arrangement with Mawer complements Manulife Mutual Funds’ existing suite of funds by adding growth at a reasonable price (GARP) investment managers.

The new suite of mutual funds will be available for sale on July 7, 2008 and is comprised of the following seven funds:

  • Manulife Mawer World Investment Class;
  • Manulife Mawer Canadian Equity Class;
  • Manulife Mawer Canadian Bond Fund;
  • Manulife Mawer Diversified Investment Fund;
  • Manulife Mawer Global Small Cap Fund;
  • Manulife Mawer Tax-Managed Growth Fund;
  • Manulife Mawer U.S. Equity Fund.

“We look forward to a very rewarding relationship with Mawer and believe that the new addition of the Manulife Mawer line-up of funds provides further evidence of our commitment towards helping advisors provide the highest quality investment options for their clients,” says Jeff Ray, assistant vp, mutual fund products.