Manulife buys MAAKL Mutual

MANILA, Philippines - Manulife Financial Berhad (MHB) has acquired 100-percent of MAAKL Mutual Bhd (MAAKL), a major asset management company in Malaysia.

MHB is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp. (Manulife), the leading insurance and financial service group in Canada and among the biggest globally. Manulife Financial Philippines is a subsidiary of Manulife.

Manulife Asset Management Services Berhad (MAMSB), a subsidiary of MHB, will take over the investment management responsibility of MAAKL it will likewise catapult MHB’s unit trust business among the 10 largest in Malaysia.

MHB Group chief executive officer Mark O’ Dell said that the acquisition enhances Manulife’s business and presence in Malaysia, complementing the institutions’ wealth management growth strategy.

“MAAKL’s strength lies with its senior management team. Our priority is to ensure the stability and continuity of MAAKL’s operations prior to its merger with MAMSB within 12 months’ time,” O’Dell said in a press statement.

MHB gets 1,100 professional unit trust advisers, and 27 unit trust funds. Of the trust funds, 19 are employees provident fund and 10 are classified as Islamic funds.

MHB serves 293,000 policyholders and wealth management customers, with assets under management (AUM) worth over RM$4 billion.

From the acquisition, it inherits MAAKL’s award-winning MHO Mobile application available on the iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry and Android smartphones. MHO Mobile empowers investors to monitor and manage their unit trust investments at anytime, anywhere.

Manulife also has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA.

Earlier, Manulife sold its life insurance business in Taiwan to CTCB Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

However, Manulife said that it remains committed to its asset management operation in Taiwan, Manulife Asset Management (Taiwan) Co. Ltd. “This is a separately managed operation that is not impacted by the transaction,” it added.

It operates in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were approximately C$575 billion ($559 billion) as of end September 2013.