In a bid to “move its product upscale,” Manulife Investments has re-branded a series of existing portfolios as Simplicity, a wrap program available in mutual fund or segregated fund form. The change means five seg fund portfolios and three mutual fund portfolios have been renamed under the Simplicity banner, and three new offerings — Manulife Simplicity Conservative Portfolio, Manulife Simplicity Moderate Portfolio and Manulife Simplicity Aggressive Portfolio — have been launched to round out the risk profile in the firm’s mutual fund lineup. Current investors will be unaffected by the changes unless they have $25,000 or more
in the program, in which case they will receive “robust, enhanced reporting” in quarterly statements that outline asset allocation, manager information and performance of each asset allocation. “We’re basically telling investors they’re getting a value-added product,” says Rick Annaert, vice president of investment
products. Fee and commission structures remain the same.