Manulife Mutual Funds announced on Monday a fund name rebranding strategy, the addition of five new mandates to its lineup of mutual funds plus the addition of a mutual fund class that can provide tax-efficient distributions to unitholders.

“We continuously review our products and services to ensure they provide the most competitive access to opportunities as they arise in the global marketplace,” said Doug Conick, vice president of investment funds for Manulife Investments.

“The addition of these new funds provides investors with additional sources of diversification and access to top-ranked investment management,” said Conick of the new funds. They include: Manulife Real Return Strategy Fund, Manulife Global Tactical Fund, Manulife Global Leaders Class, Manulife Emerging Markets Fund and Manulife European Opportunities Fund.

As well, Manulife Mutual Funds has launched a T-class structure, which provides a monthly cash flow through distributions. The following group of nine funds will offer the T-class structure providing an attractive investment option for investors looking for a tax-efficient means of generating income from their mutual fund investments: Manulife Global Monthly Income Fund, Manulife Core Balanced Fund, Manulife Real Return Strategy Fund, Manulife Dividend Fund, Manulife Global Dividend Fund, Manulife Simplicity Income Portfolio, Manulife Simplicity Balanced Portfolio, Manulife Simplicity Global Balanced Portfolio and Manulife Simplicity Growth Portfolio.

“Our new T-class series of mutual funds also supports our strategy of becoming a leader in offering attractive solutions to Canadians to help fund their retirement years,” said Conick.

In terms of the rebranding strategy, Manulife Investments has renamed the Elliott & Page and Manulife Investment Exchange Funds Corp. fund families under Manulife Mutual Funds. This initiative has been undertaken to capitalize on the strength of Manulife’s brand and to simplify the naming convention for both advisors and investors. Elliott & Page has been renamed to Manulife Funds and MIX Funds has been renamed Manulife Corporate Classes. There are no changes to Manulife Simplicity Portfolios.