Important Investor Information

Please carefully read the following disclosure, which sets out important information, and terms and conditions (“Terms”) that you need to know and agree to in order to enter this portion of the website. By accessing this portion of the website, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

You are also directed to read the Global Legal terms and conditions of use of this website (“Global Terms”), which are located in the “Global Legal” link at the bottom of each page of the website. By accessing this website, you additionally agree to be bound by the Global Terms. 

This website is directed only to residents of Canada that are "accredited investors" as defined under National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions ("NI 45-106") and that are resident in any of the provinces of Canada (hereinafter the "Offering Jurisdictions".) Therefore, only investors that satisfy these eligibility criteria should be accessing this website. A definition of an accredited investor is set out below.

If you wish to enter this portion of the website, please click the "Accept" button below to confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions set out in this disclosure and in the Global Legal link. By clicking the "Accept" button below, you also consent to the setting of cookies on your machine to remember the site preferences and track user activity. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions or do not consent to the use of cookies, click "Cancel" and you will be redirected back to your previous link.

Operation of this Website

This website is operated by Manulife Asset Management, the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management entities provide comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. 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. 

The country-specific sections of this website are operated by the Manulife Asset Management entity identified in those sections. Country-specific sections may only be used as directed/permitted in those sections. It is your responsibility to be aware of and to observe all applicable laws and regulations of any relevant jurisdiction. For the Canada-specific sections of this website, they are operated by Manulife Asset Management Limited. 

Manulife Asset Management Limited’s Affiliates

Manulife Asset Management Limited's affiliated managers may not be registered in and may not be permitted to provide investment advice directly to clients in in all or any Canadian jurisdictions. In such cases, Canadian resident investors may only be able to gain access to them through Manulife Asset Management Limited. Except as specifically permitted and subject to applicable restrictions and regulations, the products or services of Manulife Asset Management Limited’s affiliated managers are not offered outside their intended countries or regions. Manulife Asset Management Limited provides access to the investment services of its non-Canadian affiliates through funds and other products and services that are intended for Canadian residents only.

For a list of affiliates by country, please click the “Global Legal” link.

Non-Canadian and Non-Accredited Investors

Certain of the funds and strategies described herein may only be available only to Canadian residents, or more specifically to “accredited investors”. This communication does not constitute an offer or solicitation to anyone in any other jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. Prospective investors who are not resident in Canada should consult their advisor to determine if the funds and strategies described herein may be lawfully sold in their jurisdiction.

Does this website offer advice?

No. Nothing contained within this website should be construed as investment, insurance, securities, tax or legal advice, and you agree that this website will not be used by you for these purposes. The website does not contain any advice as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities or insurance products. Decisions based on information contained in this website are the sole responsibility of the user. The information contained in this website is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or any investment or insurance product or service.

What are the general risk factors I should be aware of before accessing information on this website?

• Investment involves risks.
• Past performance is no guide to future returns. Please note that the price of units or shares and the income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount originally invested.
• The value of your investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount you have invested.
• Exchange rate fluctuations may affect the value of an investment and any income derived from it.
• If you exercise any right to cancel, you may not get back the amount initially invested if the unit or share price has fallen since you invested.
• Deductions for charges and expenses, particularly the initial charge, are not made uniformly throughout the life of the investment, so if you redeem out of the investment during the early years, you may not get back the amount invested.
• There can be no guarantee that the tax position or proposed tax position prevailing at the time of an investment will not change.
• Dividends and capital gains on securities issued in the relevant funds may be subject to withholding taxes imposed by the countries in which each particular fund invests.

You must read any relevant offering document(s) and/or investment policy statement for any fund or strategy for all the relevant risk factors pertaining to your investment. You are responsible for ensuring that you are appropriately informed about any securities, taxation or other legislation or law that could affect your decision to invest in any fund or strategy described herein.

Unclaimed Property

Certain Provinces have enacted legislation that governs how unclaimed property is to be dealt with. Generally, unclaimed property legislation requires holders of unclaimed property to make reasonable efforts to locate the owners of unclaimed property so that the property can be returned to the owner.

Manulife Asset Management Limited is committed to complying with the legislation of any jurisdiction that has enacted legislation governing the treatment of unclaimed property. As of October 2011, three provinces (British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec) have enacted unclaimed property legislation. If Manulife Asset Management Limited is unsuccessful in its attempts to locate and notify an owner of unclaimed property whose last known address is in a jurisdiction that has enacted unclaimed property legislation and twelve months have passed since the date of the circumstance arising, Manulife Asset Management Limited's Chief Compliance Officer will authorize the addition of the unclaimed property into the public records. Manulife Asset Management Limited will utilize any publicly available database in the jurisdiction established and maintained for such purpose.

If you believe you have unclaimed property please call us toll free 1-877-852-2204.

Important information about liability

You agree that your use of the website shall be on an "as is" basis entirely at your own risk.  

Limitations of liability - Manulife Asset Management makes no warranty or representation that the website, including the country-specific sections, can be accessed at all times. The website, or portions of the website, may, without notice, be temporarily unavailable or restricted for administrative or other reasons.

 You will indemnify all Manulife Asset Management entities (including their parent companies, and affiliated or associated companies) and their officers, directors, employees and agents in respect of any third-party claim, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, for any injury, loss, damage or expense occasioned by or arising directly or indirectly from the operation, use or supply of information to a third party provided in breach of any of your obligations under these Terms. 

If you transmit any communication through this website to Manulife Asset Management directly or through any third-party internet or other service provider, you shall be responsible and liable for any omissions or failures that may be made while transmitting or receiving communications using this website. This website is not designed for the transmission of time sensitive instructions - this means that if you use this website to transmit time sensitive instructions, you will be responsible and liable for any loss that may arise, and you transmit such time sensitive information at your own risk.

 You agree that neither Manulife Asset Management, nor any officer, affiliate, manager, member, director, agent or employee of Manulife Asset Management, or any Manulife Asset Management affiliate, will be liable to you or any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, loss of profits, loss of earnings, loss of business opportunities, damages, expense, or costs resulting directly or indirectly from, or otherwise arising in connection with, the use or inability to use the website by you or any third party, including without limitation any of the following:

1. Reliance. Damages resulting from or arising from any reliance on the website or any content on the website, or the mistakes, omissions, interruptions, errors, defects, delays in operation, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, transmissions, eavesdropping by third parties, or any failure of performance of the website or any content.
2. Infringement, Etc. Any allegation, claim, suit, or other proceeding based upon a contention that the use of the website by any user or a third party infringes the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, privacy, or other intellectual property rights or contractual rights of any third party.
3. Force Majeure. Any delay or failure of Manulife Asset Management to perform due to government restriction, strikes, war, any natural disaster or any other condition beyond Manulife Asset Management's control.

Hyperlinks

We do not recommend or endorse and accept no responsibility for the content of any website not operated by Manulife Asset Management which you may visit by following a link from this website. You acknowledge and agree that Manulife Asset Management is not responsible for the availability of such third-party sites or resources, and do not endorse, approve, investigate or verify, and are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further agree that Manulife Asset Management shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, products or services available on such external sites or resources. These links are provided as a convenience and solely for informational purposes. Manulife Asset Management is not making any recommendation to invest in, purchase, or sell any securities or other products or services issued by the companies with the linked sites, nor has Manulife Asset Management sought to verify or confirm the information contained in the linked sites. Accordingly, Manulife Asset Management disclaims any responsibility for the linked sites.

No other website, without the prior written permission of Manulife Asset Management, is authorized to link to any part of this website.

Changes to content within the website

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of these Terms and/or the Global Terms at any time without notice to website users. Similarly, we reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to change, modify, add or remove the content of this website, including the country-specific sections, or to terminate the website in whole or in part. You must check these Terms and Global Terms periodically for changes. Any changes, modifications, or additions to, or deletions from these Terms or Global Terms shall be effective upon posting on this website. If you access this website, including the country-specific sections, after we post changes to the Terms or Global Terms, you further acknowledge the Terms or Global Terms as changed and agree to be bound by them.

 “Accredited Investor” means: 

• a Canadian financial institution, or a Schedule III bank;
• the Business Development Bank of Canada incorporated under the Business Development Bank of Canada Act (Canada);
• a subsidiary of any person referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b), if the person owns all of the voting shares of the subsidiary, except the voting shares required by law to be owned by directors of that subsidiary;
• a person registered under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada as an advisor or dealer, other than a person registered solely as a limited market dealer under one or both of the Securities Act (Ontario) or the Securities Act (Newfoundland and Labrador);
• an individual registered or formerly registered under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada as a representative of a person referred to in paragraph (d);
• the Government of Canada or a jurisdiction of Canada, or any crown corporation, agency or wholly owned entity of the Government of Canada or a jurisdiction of Canada;
• a municipality, public board or commission in Canada and a metropolitan community, school board, the Comit de gestion de la taxe scolaire de l'ile de Montreal or an inter-municipal management board in Quebec;
• any national, federal, state, provincial, territorial or municipal government of or in any foreign jurisdiction, or any agency of that government;
• a pension fund that is regulated by either the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada) or a pension commission or similar regulatory authority of a jurisdiction of Canada;
• an individual who, either alone or with a spouse1, beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, financial assets2 having an aggregate realizable value that before taxes, but net of any related liabilities3, exceeds $1,000,000;
• an individual whose net income before taxes exceeded $200,000 in each of the 2 most recent calendar years or whose net income before taxes combined with that of a spouse exceeded $300,000 in each of the 2 most recent calendar years and who, in either case, reasonably expects to exceed that net income level in the current calendar year;
• an individual who, either alone or with a spouse, has net assets of at least $5,000,000;
• a person, other than an individual or investment fund, that has net assets of at least $5,000,000 as shown on its most recently prepared financial statements;
• an investment fund that distributes or has distributed its securities only to (i) a person that is or was an accredited investor at the time of the distribution, (ii) a person that acquires or acquired securities in the circumstances referred to in sections 2.104 of National Instrument 45-106, and 2.195 of National Instrument 45-106, or (iii) a person described in paragraph (i) or (ii) that acquires or acquired securities under section 2.186 of National Instrument 45-106;
• an investment fund that distributes or has distributed securities under an Offering Memorandum in a jurisdiction of Canada for which the regulator or, in Quebec, the securities regulatory authority, has issued a receipt;
• a trust company or trust corporation registered or authorized to carry on business under the Trust and Loan Companies Act (Canada) or under comparable legislation in a jurisdiction of Canada or a foreign jurisdiction, acting on behalf of a fully managed account7 managed by the trust company or trust corporation, as the case may be;
• a person acting on behalf of a fully managed account managed by that person, if that person (i) is registered or authorized to carry on business as an advisor or the equivalent under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada or a foreign jurisdiction, and (ii) in Ontario, is purchasing a security that is not a security of an investment fund;
• a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) that, in regard to the trade, has obtained advice from an eligibility advisor8 or an advisor registered under the securities legislation of the jurisdiction of the registered charity to give advice on the securities being traded;
• an entity organized in a foreign jurisdiction that is analogous to any of the entities referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) or paragraph (i) in form and function;
• a person in respect of which all of the owners of interests, direct, indirect or beneficial, except the voting securities required by law to be owned by directors, are persons that are accredited investors;
• an investment fund that is advised by a person registered as an advisor or a person that is exempt from registration as an advisor; or
• a person that is recognized or designated by the securities regulatory authority or, except in Ontario and Quebec, the regulator as (i) an accredited investor, or (ii) an exempt purchaser in Alberta or British Columbia.

1. Spouse, in relation to an individual Applicant, means another individual to whom the Applicant is married and is not living separate and apart within the meaning of the Divorce Act (Canada), or is living with another individual in a marriage-like relationship, including with another individual of the same gender, or in Alberta, is an adult inter-dependent partner within the meaning of the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act (Alberta).
2. Financial assets mean cash, securities, any contract of insurance or deposit or evidence thereof.
3. Related liabilities means (a) liabilities incurred or assumed for the purposes of financing the acquisition or ownership of financial assets, and (b) liabilities that are secured by financial assets.
4. Section 2.10 refers to purchasers who purchase, as principal, securities of a single issuer which have an acquisition cost to the purchaser of not less than $150,000 paid in cash at the time of the trade.
5. Section 2.19 refers to securityholder who initially acquires securities of the investment fund as principal for an acquisition cost of not less than $150,000 paid in cash at the time of the trade and subsequently acquires securities in the same series as the initial trade if at the date of the subsequent trade, the securityholder holds securities of the investment fund that have an acquisition cost of not less than $150,000 or a net asset value of not less than $150,000.
6. Section 2.18 refers to securities acquired pursuant to a reinvestment plan available to all securityholders in Canada where there is no sales charge payable on the trade and the most recent Offering Memorandum, if any, of the investment fund provided details of any fee payable at the time of redemption and of any right of the securityholder to elect to receive cash instead of securities.
7. Fully managed account means an account for which a person makes investment decisions if that person has full discretion to trade in securities of the account without requiring the client's express consent to a transaction.
8. Eligibility adviser means (i) a registered investment dealer or equivalent under the securities legislation of the jurisdiction of the client authorized to give advice with respect to the securities being distributed, (ii) in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a lawyer in good standing with a Canadian law society or a public account in good standing with an institute or association of accountants provided the law or public accountant does not have a professional, business or personal relationship with the issuer or any of its directors, executive officers, founders or control persons, and must not have acted or been retained personally or otherwise as an employee, executive officer, director, associate or partner of a person that has acted or been retained by the issuer or any of its directors, executive officers, founders or control persons within the previous 12 months.