Week Adjourned: 7.10.09

401163 cover.inddTop Class Actions

Manulife meets its Waterloo? Ok, lousy play on words—and not everyone knows Manulife is based out of Waterloo, ON (city motto: stability). But, indeed, a class action lawsuit was filed this week on behalf investors who purchased the securities of Manulife Financial Corporation between March 28, 2008 and June 22, 2009. Manulife is considered a “safe bet” as an investment tool, and is among the top insurance companies in the world, largely due to its risk management strategies. But this time, they may not have followed their own investment guidelines.

The complaint alleges that contrary to the Company’s own risk management strategy, Manulife applied no material hedging strategy to manage risk particularly during an economic downturn (hmm, could the book at right have come in handy? just asking). The complaint further alleges that notwithstanding its risk management strategy Manulife built up a massive stock portfolio, which Continue reading “Week Adjourned: 7.10.09”