Yearly Archive: 2009

Amidst all the kerfuffle about Manulife cutting its dividend, one question has gone unasked. But before I get to that, let’s review the proceedings. In a bid to build what he calls a “fortress” company, newly minted Manulife CEO Donald Guloien cut the dividend in half. The step, he said, would raise capital levels and yield $800 million annually for acquisitions. But capital is already hale and hearty. Manulife’s Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) must now be at 250, a historic high, and well above the regulator’s required 150. When Michael Lee-Chin recently sold the rest of his...

Tara Perkins, the financial services beat reporter for the Globe’s Report on Business, seems like an insightful writer. As someone who has written about the topic for thirty years, I can recognize a good journalist over a mediocre one. It’s just that Ms. Perkins doesn’t read books. Or studiously avoids citing books in her field. Take today’s fine piece on Donald Guloien and his conservative stance at Manulife. She quotes the new Manulife CEO on the topic of last fall’s market meltdown as saying, “Those were very uncomfortable times.” I guess they were. Fine old firms crashed: American International Group,...

Steven Proctor, business editor of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, has reviewed my new book, calling it “straightforward [and] easy-to-read.” The review also noted: “The book is notable because it actually broke some news, an unusual circumstance for a biography.” Halifax, of course was for decades home to Maritime Life, bought by John Hancock in 1969. Hancock was in turn acquired by Manulife in 2004. Proctor’s office is in what is still called the Maritime Life building. Here’s a link to the full review.

Since the announcement last Friday by Manulife that the company was being investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission, share price has fallen a whopping 15 per cent. According to Mario Mendonca, of Genuity Capital, that makes Manulife cheap. “We see significant upside in the stock at current levels,” said Mendoca in a report issued before the markets opened Wednesday. Mendonca, who was among the noisy analysts last fall urging Manulife to raise more capital, says if the S&P falls to the 700-750 level, the company would have to issue more common equity, something I’m sure CEO Donald Guloien would be...

Newly appointed CEO Donald Guloien continues to put his stamp on Manulife with the appointment of Michael Bell as Chief Financial Officer. Bell held a similar role for the last six years at Cigna Corp., a Fortune 200 provider of employer-sponsored health, accident and disability insurance. Bell replaces Peter Rubenovitch, one of Dominic D’Alessandro’s earliest hires in 1995. When D’Alessandro arrived as CEO in 1994, he didn’t like a lot of what he saw in the executive ranks, and set out to replace most of the senior officers. Guloien doesn’t have that issue, but he will be presented with opportunities...

As the author of a dozen books, I often get asked how to write a book. One such request came recently from The Canadian Journalism Project. Here’s a link to the outcome.

When Donald Guloien succeeded Dominic D’Alessandro as CEO of Manulife last month, Warren Thomson was promoted to replace Guloien as chief investment officer. In turn, Jean-Francois Courville has just been named to replace Thomson as CEO of MFC Global Investment Management, putting him in charge of about $100 billion in client assets. Courville has an interesting connection with Guloien. Both are members of the Young Presidents’ Organization, a worldwide group of business leaders who became presidents before they turned 40. In Guloien’s case, he was invited to be a YPOer in 1993, when he was president of Manulife America. At...

“Manulife” was featured in a half-page Amazon.ca ad in the Globe and Mail this morning. There I was lined up with three far more famous authors: Michael Ignatieff, Issy Sharpe and Larry King. We’re all discounted, just in time for Father’s Day. You’re one click away. See “Buy this book” above.

Our son Mark, CEO of Wellington Financial, and his wife, Andrea Whiting, a vice-president at BMO Financial Group, hosted a lively reception at the august Toronto Club last night to to celebrate the publication of my new book about Manulife. Other family members on hand were our daughter, Alison, a professor of art history at McMaster, and her husband, Ken McLeod, a professor of music at the University of Toronto; Andrea’s parents, Donna and David Whiting, of Erin, Ontario; and, most importantly, my wife Sandy, who as the book’s dedication indicates, “Makes everything possible.” First to arrive at the early...

The question I get asked the most (after what’s Dominic D’Alessandro really like) is this: Is Manulife safe? The answer is a resounding yes. All life insurance policies, annuities, and other products are hale and hearty. No policy holder or client needs to worry. The fact that Manulife this week raised $350 million in a preferred share issue (announced at $250 million and increased because of demand) is further proof that investors have confidence in the company. The preferred issue pays 5.6 per cent, a nice rate when GICs are in the 2 per cent range. Manulife’s dilemma was never...

Part of the joy of finishing a new book is the free time available. Eighteen months of 14-hour days researching/writing/editing are suddenly over. The book is published. Now what? The publicity tour, that’s what. Many authors complain about having to do publicity. Not me. What’s wrong with talking about your baby, telling favorite anecdotes, and celebrating its very existence? To be sure, many of the interviewers at newspapers and broadcast outlets haven’t read the book. Just as the interview is about to start, they lean in and whisper, “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet....

The first executive appointment under new management at Manulife bespeaks a departure from the past. David Paterson, the face of General Motors in Canada as the automaker’s main spokesperson, will become responsible for public affairs at Manulife on June 1. As such, Paterson will come in over Jennifer Rowe, vice president, corporate affairs. Rowe will focus on employee communications and engagement. Interesting that new Manulife CEO Donald Guloien, who replaced Dominic D’Alessandro just last week, would pick public affairs as the first place to make his mark. To me, this means the beginning of the shift in the corporate culture...

As Dominic D’Alessandro heads into retirement, he is being honored at various celebrations. Last Wednesday, the evening before the annual meeting, D’Alessandro was feted at a dinner attended by senior management, the board of directors, and the forty-eight Stars of Excellence, the top sales performers from around the world. As a parting gift, D’Alessandro received a maquette of a portion of the Community sculpture that is featured on the outside back cover of my book. At the annual meeting itself, an occasion he described as “bittersweet,” D’Alessandro was given a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Not only...

In case you missed it, I appeared on Business News Network this afternoon as part of the publicity campaign for my new book. The interview opens with a brief clip from the interview with Dominic D’Alessandro who appeared on Howard Green’s Headline show later in the day. Both D’Alessandro and Green had complimentary things to say about the book. Here’s the link.

Yesterday was pub date, publication date, of my new book, the day when traditionally a new book is widely available for sale. Indeed, in addition to Amazon.ca “Manulife” is now offered at the Chapters.Indigo online site for 34% off list. How can you resist? One click and it’s yours. Online reviews welcome!