Manulife Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund Files Preliminary Prospectus

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States

TORONTO, April 1, 2013 /CNW/ - Manulife Investments is pleased to announce that a preliminary prospectus for Manulife Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund (the "Fund") has been filed and receipted by the securities regulatory authorities of all the Canadian provinces and territories for an initial public offering (the "Offering") of Class A Units and Class U Units of the Fund (collectively, the "Units") at a price of $10 per Class A Unit and US$10 per Class U Unit. Class U Units are designed for investors who want to make their investment in U.S. dollars.

The Fund has been created to invest in an actively managed portfolio (the "Portfolio") comprised primarily of investments in senior floating rate loans and, to a lesser extent, short duration debt securities. Manulife Asset Management Limited (the "Manager") will act as manager and investment manager of the Fund. The Portfolio will be actively managed by Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC (the "Advisor").

The Fund's investment objectives are to:

(i) provide unitholders with monthly distributions;

(ii) preserve capital; and

(iii) provide the opportunity for increased income if short-term interest rates rise.

The Fund's initial distribution target is expected to be $0.05625 per Class A Unit per month or $0.675 per annum (US$0.05625 per Class U Unit per month or US$0.675 per annum), representing an initial yield on the Unit issue price of 6.75% per annum.

The offering is being conducted by a syndicate of Agents led by RBC Capital Markets, CIBC and Scotiabank and includes BMO Capital Markets, Manulife Securities Incorporated, National Bank Financial Inc., TD Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., GMP Securities L.P., Macquarie Private Wealth Inc., Raymond James Ltd., Desjardins Securities Inc. and Mackie Research Capital Corporation.

A preliminary prospectus containing important information relating to these securities has been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. The prospectus is still subject to completion or amendment. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from one of the dealers noted above. There will not be any sale or any acceptance of an offer to buy the securities until a receipt for the final prospectus has been issued.

The Units have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in the United States (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable securities laws of any state of the United States or in reliance on an exemption from such registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities set out herein in the United States.

Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions "expect", "intend", "will" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Fund, the Manager and/or the Advisor. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the Fund's, the Manager's, and/or the Advisor's current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although the Fund, the Manager, and/or the Advisor believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The Fund, the Manager and/or the Advisor undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement or information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

About Manulife Investments
Manulife Investments is the brand name describing certain Canadian subsidiaries and operating divisions of Manulife Financial Corporation that offer personal wealth management products and services in Canada. As one of Canada's leading integrated financial services providers, Manulife Investments offers a variety of products and services including segregated fund contracts, mutual funds, annuities and guaranteed interest contracts.

About Manulife Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. Manulife Asset Management also provides investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies. Manulife Asset Management has investment presence in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition, it has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. It also has operations in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay. John Hancock Asset Management, Hancock Natural Resource Group and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management. Manulife Asset Management was named Best Asian Bond House for 2011 by Asia Asset Management. As at December 31, 2012, assets under management were US$238 billion. Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at manulifeam.com.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$532 billion (US$535 billion) as at December 31, 2012. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

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 manulife.com.

SOURCE: Manulife Asset Management