Manulife Mutual Funds continued its product line expansion Monday with the launch of seven new funds.

Three of the new funds are available in both trust and corporate class.

All of the new funds have portfolio management provided by portfolio advisor Manulife Asset Management, the asset management division of parent company Manulife Financial.

“We know that advisors look to Manulife Mutual Funds for high quality investment solutions that their clients both need and want, and so we are very pleased to offer new options in the areas of balanced yield and balanced Canadian equity, dividend income and corporate bonds,” says Paul Lorentz, president of Manulife Investments.

Manulife Strategic Balanced Yield Fund/Class will invest in a diversified portfolio of dividend paying equity securities and fixed income securities. The equity portion and overall portfolio management of the fund will be run by Walter McCormick and Sandy Sanders who apply their proprietary 7-step research process to equity selection and who have experience with managing dividend strategies. The multi-sector fixed income portion of the fund will be managed by highly regarded fixed income managers Daniel Janis and Tom Goggins, along with Dennis McCafferty who will lend his credit research and floating rate loan expertise. All portfolio managers are with Manulife Asset Management.

Manulife Dividend Income Fund/Class will invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of Canadian dividend paying common and preferred equity securities. The lead manager is Jonathan Popper, who is also co-manager of the Manulife Monthly High Income Fund, a balanced fund with a significant allocation to dividend paying equities.

Manulife Corporate Bond Class is a corporate class version of the existing Manulife Corporate Bond Fund, managed by Terry Carr. The fund provides exposure to both investment grade and high yield corporate bonds.

Manulife Canadian Equity Balanced Fund/Class is designed to provide long-term growth by investing in a portfolio of Canadian equity, fixed income and money market securities. The fund will have a target allocation of 65-70% in equities, with the remainder invested across a variety of fixed income asset classes and money market. Lead manager for the equity portion of the fund is Monika Skiba, a recent addition to Manulife Asset Management, while the fixed income component will be run by long time Manulife Asset Management portfolio manager Terry Carr.