John Hancock Investments enhances advisor coverage model

BOSTON, Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Investments announced today that it is building on its substantial business success of the past five years and investing further in its sales organization to better support a growing number of advisor relationships across geographies and channels. Against a backdrop of industry consolidation, the firm is adding new staff and implementing an innovative approach built around three core tenets:

• More intensive wholesaler coverage with channel specialization in key metro areas
• More extensive coverage in rural geographies through focused, multichannel distribution
• Increased digital engagement across a broader audience that prefers a digital-first approach

"Our rapid growth in recent years means we're now supporting a greater number of advisors nationwide, and we intend to uphold our heritage of exceptional service," said Jeffrey O. Duckworth, president of intermediary distribution at John Hancock Investments. "Wholesalers will have smaller territory footprints on average in order to maximize advisor coverage, and while channel specialization has helped us achieve much success over the years, we believe a greater number of multi-channel territories outside of the major metro areas will help us do a better job of supporting those advisors."

The enhanced coverage model is enabling the firm to be more strategic in its territory design, resulting in fewer territories but an incremental increase in sales support personnel overall. The move comes on the heels of Hancock's decision in 2016 to open a 50-person Tempe, Arizona, office dedicated to serving advisors in the western United States—as well as the expansion of its team of DCIO, ETF, and portfolio consulting specialists. To more effectively manage resources for each territory, the firm is adding the following newly created positions:

• 1 business intelligence expert, responsible for targeting distribution opportunities within each territory
• 4 new business associates tasked with helping broaden the firm's reach by connecting with and serving advisors who prefer to interact with John Hancock Investments via their digital properties.
• 10 business development associates, responsible for building deeper relationships with advisors at Hancock's largest distributors

The firm's enhanced coverage model leverages a major investment in technology made over the past few years. "We're finding that more advisors are open to using technology as a way to engage with us, and we're pleased to be able to help them better manage their time in this way," said Mr. Duckworth. "Different advisors want to do business in different ways," he added. "Our goal is to better align our firm with our clients' needs so that we can support them in the way they want to be supported."

With sales growing at a 16% CAGR over the past 5 years (versus an industry average of 5.7%), John Hancock Investments maintains active relationships with more than 122,500 advisors nationwide and has over 910 selling agreements with firms across channels. The firm had more than $144 billion in assets under management across asset classes, with 46 funds rated 4 or 5 stars by Morningstar at the highest-rated share class.¹

About John Hancock Investments
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 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 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 $1 trillion (US$780 billion) as of June 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, college savings plans, and certain forms of business insurance. We also offer advice through Signator, a network of independent financial advisors. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

1. Data as of June 30, 2017.

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SOURCE John Hancock Investments