Manulife Financial Names Warren A. Thomson Chief Investment Officer — May 21, 2009

Toronto — Manulife Financial Corporation (the "Company") has appointed Warren A. Thomson as Chief Investment Officer. In this capacity, Mr. Thomson oversees the world-wide investment operations managed on behalf of the Company's general fund and external clients, with total assets in excess of Cdn$286 billion. Assets under management include fixed income and equity securities and alternative assets such as real estate, timber land, agricultural land, and oil and gas properties.

Mr. Thomson, 54, succeeds Donald A. Guloien as Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Guloien on May 7th became President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Financial.

Mr. Thomson, a Senior Executive Vice President, was also named to succeed Mr. Guloien as Chairman of MFC Global Investment Management (MFC GIM), the Company's external client asset management business. Mr. Thomson is also a member of the Company's Executive and Management Committees.

Before taking on his current role, Mr. Thomson was Vice Chairman of MFC GIM. In addition to being responsible for MFC GIM's fixed income and equity security management subsidiaries, he also had oversight of Manulife Real Estate, Declaration Management & Research, Hancock Timber Resource Group, Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, and NAL Resources. Prior to that, Mr. Thomson was responsible for overseeing the management of all U.S. fixed income portfolios, including public bonds, private debt and mortgages for John Hancock.

The Investment Division team reporting directly to Mr. Thomson includes: Kevin Adolphe, Senior Vice President and Divisional CFO; J-F Courville, President & CEO of MFC GIM; Scott Hartz, Executive Vice President, General Fund Investments; Stephani Kingsmill, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Real Estate; Kathy Lockwood, Vice President, Human Resources; and Alan Seghezzi, Senior Vice President & Chief Counsel, Investments.

Mr. Thomson worked for Manulife between 1987 and 1994 in Corporate Tax, and returned in 2001 to the Investment Division as Senior Vice President. Mr. Thomson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and has his Chartered Accountant designation from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers customers a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$405 billion (US$322 billion) as at March 31, 2009.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

About MFC Global Investment Management®
MFC Global Investment Management® is the asset management division of Manulife Financial. MFC Global Investment Management's diversified group of companies provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors, investment funds and individuals in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as oil and gas, real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

MFC Global Investment Management has investment offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout Asia. As of March 31, 2009, assets under management together with assets managed for general fund exceeded Cdn$286 billion. Additional information about MFC Global Investment Management may be found at www.mfcglobal.com.

MFC Global Investment Management®, Manulife and the block design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it and its affiliates including Manulife Financial Corporation.

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