manulife financial
Toronto symbol MFC, sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services. It operates in 19 countries and territories worldwide.
Manulife’s $15-billion purchase of New York-listed John Hancock Financial in 2004 doubled its assets under management. It also let it expand rapidly in the U.S. by selling John Hancock’s innovative, high-fee, stock-based variable annuities. These annuities guarantee minimum long-term returns even if markets fall. Manulife’s shares peaked at $44 in late 2007, but falling markets and interest rates after that turned these guarantees into big liabilities for the company. MANULIFE FINANCIAL $12.53 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $22.1 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment-management services. It operates globally, and has $453.9 billion of assets under management. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Manulife lost $2.4 billion, or $1.36 a share. Canada’s conservative accounting rules forced it to set aside $3.2 billion, mostly to increase reserves for its variable annuities. (Under U.S. accounting rules, it would have actually reported a small earnings increase in the latest quarter.) A year earlier, it earned $1.8 billion, or $1.09 a share....
MANULIFE FINANCIAL $12.53 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $22.1 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment-management services. It operates globally, and has $453.9 billion of assets under management. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Manulife lost $2.4 billion, or $1.36 a share. Canada’s conservative accounting rules forced it to set aside $3.2 billion, mostly to increase reserves for its variable annuities. (Under U.S. accounting rules, it would have actually reported a small earnings increase in the latest quarter.) A year earlier, it earned $1.8 billion, or $1.09 a share. To cut risk, Manulife has hedged, or insured, more of its variable annuities against falling stock markets. Its hedges now cover 51% of these investments, up from 20% in 2009. It’s aiming for 70% by 2012....
The Data Group Income Fund, $7.27, symbol DGI.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 23.5 million; Market cap: $170.8 million), sells commercial-printing and related services to a wide variety of customers, including Canada Post, Bell Canada, Manulife Financial Corp., Bank of Montreal, Imperial Oil, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and British Columbia Lottery Corp. By outsourcing their printing needs to Data Group, the fund’s clients can focus on their main businesses and improve their efficiency. Data Group has three divisions:...
MANULIFE FINANCIAL $19.31 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $33.9 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.7%) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services. It operates in 22 countries. Manulife has $440 billion of assets under management. In the three months ended December 31, 2009, Manulife earned $868 million, or $0.51 a share. A year earlier, the company lost $1.9 billion, or $1.24 a share. The year-earlier loss largely resulted from stock-market declines and the cost of increasing reserves for its segregated-fund guarantees. In December 2008, Manulife sold $2.3 billion of new shares to strengthen its balance sheet. In September 2009, the company cut its quarterly dividend by 50%, to $0.13 from $0.26, to further build its cash reserves. The shares yield 2.7%....
Dividend 15 Split Corp., $11.69, symbol DFN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 11.2 million; Market cap: $131.2 million), is a split-share investment corporation that holds shares of 15 companies: BCE Inc., CI Financial Corporation, AGF Management, TransAlta Corporation, SunLife Financial, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, TransCanada Corporation, Manulife Financial, TD Bank, TMX Group, Royal Bank of Canada, Loblaw, Bank of Montreal, Telus Corporation and Enbridge. The company can also invest up to 15% of its portfolio in other equity issues. Dividend 15 Split Corp. has two share classes: Dividend 15 Split Corp. capital shares (Toronto symbol DFN), and Dividend 15 Split Corp. preferred shares (Toronto symbol DFN.PR.A)....
HARBOUR FUND $19.67 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (C.I. Mutual Funds, 151 Yonge St., 7th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 2W7. 1-800-268-9374; Web site: www.cifunds.com. Load fund: available from brokers.) invests in only 25 to 40 high-quality, mostly Canadian stocks. It may hold stocks for four or five years to realize their value. The $5.5-billion Harbour Fund’s top holdings include Canadian National Railway, Goldcorp Inc., Suncor Energy, Talisman Energy, EnCana Corporation, CIBC, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Cisco Systems, Manulife Financial and BHP Billiton. These holdings make up 38.1% of the fund’s portfolio. The Harbour Fund gained 14.4% in the year ended October 31, 2009, compared to a gain of 15.7% for the S&P/TSX. The fund’s five-year return has averaged 8.0% annually. Its MER is 2.31%....
BMO DIVIDEND FUND $41.10 (BMO Mutual Funds, 77 King Street West, Suite 4200, Royal Trust Tower, Toronto, Ont., M5K 1J5, Tel: 1-800-665-7700; Web site: www.bmo.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) (CWA Rating: Conservative) holds about 48.5% of its portfolio in the Finance sector. The fund’s next-largest sectors are Energy (23.4%), Consumer Discretionary (5.9%) and Materials (5.0%). The $3.9-billion BMO Dividend Fund’s largest stock holdings are Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC, Royal Bank, Suncor Energy, Manulife Financial, Toronto-Dominion Bank, TransCanada Corporation, EnCana Corporation, Enbridge and Goldcorp. The fund’s MER is 1.71%....
FIDELITY TRUE NORTH FUND $24.80 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Fidelity Investments Canada, 483 Bay St., Suite 200, Toronto, Ont. M5G 2N7. 1-800-263-4077; Web site: www.fidelity.ca. Load fund — available from brokers) invests in companies that the managers see as undervalued. They base their judgments on fundamentals, such as earnings, dividend yield, book value, cash flow and debt level. Fidelity True North Fund holds 77 stocks. Its top holdings consist of the following high-quality companies: Toronto-Dominion Bank, Manulife Financial, Rogers Communications, EnCana Corporation, Research in Motion, Canadian Natural Resources, Goldcorp Inc., Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Suncor Energy and Royal Bank of Canada. Fidelity True North Fund’s breakdown by economic segment is: Financials, 27.0%; Energy, 24.0%; Metals & Minerals, 22.6%; Industrials, 6.6%; Telecommunication Services, 6.3%; Information Technologies, 5.8%; Consumer Discretionary, 3.3%; and Consumer Staples, 2.0%....
FIDELITY CANADIAN LARGE CAP FUND $24.05 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Fidelity Investments Canada, 483 Bay St., Suite 200, Toronto, Ont. M5G 2N7. 1-800-263-4077; Web site: www.fidelity.ca. Load fund — available from brokers) mainly invests in large firms, like those on the S&P/TSX 60 index, although it may also invest in mid-cap stocks. The $304.8-million Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund’s top holdings include Royal Bank of Canada, Suncor Energy, Manulife Financial, Canadian Natural Resources, Research in Motion, Goldcorp, Bank of Nova Scotia, BCE Inc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and TD Bank. The fund’s breakdown by industry includes: Financials (27.3%), Energy (18.0%), Materials (11.7%), Information Technology (9.0%), Consumer Discretionary (7.8%) and Industrials (7.5%)....
SCOTIA CANADIAN GROWTH FUND $47.00 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Scotia Securities, 40 King Street West, 6th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 1H1. 1-800-268-9269; Web site: www.scotiabank.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) attempts to use an investment’s fundamentals to determine whether it has the potential for above-average growth. The $394.5-million Scotia Canadian Growth Fund’s largest stock holdings include Royal Bank, TD Bank, Potash Corp., Canadian Natural Resources, Canadian National Railway, Bank of Nova Scotia, Crescent Point Energy and Manulife Financial. Scotia Canadian Growth holds 43.3% of its portfolio in the resource sector. Its next-largest segment is financial services, at 27.9%....