Manulife Investments has renewed its licensing agreement for a product allocation software system that helps advisors evaluate the retirement income sustainability of a client’s portfolio.

Manulife has signed a three-year, non-exclusive licensing agreement for the Product Allocation for Retirement Income software tool, which was developed and offered by the QWeMA Group Inc. – the Quantitative Wealth Management Analytics Group. Advisors using the tool can determine the optimal product allocation for clients across a variety of financial instruments, beyond stocks and bonds.

The tool is available to advisors on Manulife Investments’ online Retirement Solutions Centre.

“This product allocation tool is a very important and innovative approach that helps Canadians better plan for their financial future,” said Roy Firth, executive vice president of individual wealth management at Manulife Financial. “We are very pleased to continue our relationship with The QWeMA Group and strongly encourage anyone looking ahead to retirement to use this unique planning tool. This is a key component of our overall plan to demonstrate leadership in retirement solutions.”

Manulife Investments launched its online Retirement Solutions Centre in 2008 to offer tools to help financial advisors learn more about how product allocation can help their clients better plan and protect their retirement income.

The product allocation tool helps advisors evaluate the retirement income sustainability of a client’s current portfolio. Once the current sustainability is assessed, the client’s product portfolio can be adjusted to optimize income sustainability.

“As boomers move closer to and into retirement, product allocation will play a greater role in retirement planning success or failure,” said Dr. Moshe Milevsky, finance professor at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, and president and CEO of the QWeMA Group, which develops and licenses unique intellectual property and educational software for the financial services and retirement industry.

“PrARI allows advisors and their clients to quickly and confidently reap the rewards of the product allocation approach.”

IE