Manulife Asset Management said Friday that Toms Lokmanis has joined the firm as managing director on the institutional sales team.

Based in Toronto, Lokmanis reports to Adam Neal, senior managing director and head of Canadian sales and relationship management.

Lokmanis will be responsible for covering the Canadian small to mid-sized institutional plan market. With his hire, the Canadian sales team now includes four members.

“Toms brings to our team more than eight years’ of industry experience, together with a deep understanding of the small to mid-sized plan market in Canada, and we are very pleased to welcome him to Manulife Asset Management,” said Neal.

Lokmanis most recently served as an investment specialist with Industrial Alliance of Toronto, promoting investment solutions to corporate pension plans, consultants and brokers. Prior to that, he was an investment management sales specialist with Thomson Reuters, responsible for sales to global banks, pension funds, asset management firms, and hedge funds.

He is a CFA charterholder, and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). Lokmanis holds a BA in Economics, Honours, from McMaster University.

Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX.MFC)