This gutpunch brought to you by a drop in premiums and deposits, massive writedowns, and pretty much every equity market taking a dump. The Canadian Press report, funny enough, was truncated in the Financial Post (No mention of the problem w/ premiums and deposits). I honestly and non-ironically wonder why that might be.
This doesn’t worry me to the extent that I’ll no longer offer Manulife products - I’m still sold on their life insurance solutions - but I can’t say I’m confident enough to stand behind the GIF Select Income Plus product. The entire marketing idea behind Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit products (GMWB) is drastically lowering market risk, and guaranteeing income. If the company offering the product is perceived to be in financial jeopardy, the whole purpose has been defeated.
For now, I’ll stick to Sun Life/CI’s SunWise Elite Plus, until things look a little more optimistic for Manulife.
