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BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2019 /CNW/ - Manulife Investment Management (Manulife) announced today that as part of its ongoing effort to provide specialized asset management solutions for global investors, its Private Markets group has closed a U.S. real estate joint venture with Harel Insurance Company Ltd. (Harel), a unit of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd., Israel's largest insurance and financial group.

Manulife anticipates that the portfolio will acquire assets in select U.S. real estate markets composed of value-added, core plus and core investment strategies, to create a customized portfolio focused on office, industrial, and multi-family assets for a total investment of US$1.2 billion.

"The joint venture with Harel will allow us to leverage our diverse real estate acquisition capabilities across a full range of property types where we can strategically add value to the portfolio," said Bill McPadden, Global Head of Real Estate, Manulife Investment Management.

Steve Blewitt, Global Head of Private Markets at Manulife Investment Management added, "We are pleased to announce the partnership with Harel and we are excited about the opportunities within the U.S. real estate market to provide diverse portfolios, covering multiple asset classes, to investors across the globe."

Itzik Tawil, Global Head of Credit and Real Estate investments, Harel Insurance Company, said, "The collaboration with Manulife, one of the world's leading financial services firms, is another move in implementing Harel's strategy of diversifying its Real Estate portfolio, with respect to types of assets and geographies, with the purpose of creating stable returns for Harel's members and beneficiaries in the long term, at appropriate risk levels, by investing together with accomplished partners in quality assets and key locations."

Cardo Holdings, Manulife's exclusive placement agent in Israel, acted as advisor to the partnership. "We were proud to advise and support Manulife and Harel executing the joint venture," said Ron Shoham, Chief Executive Officer at Cardo Holdings. 

About Manulife Investment Management's Private Markets Platform
Manulife Investment Management's comprehensive private markets platform includes Real Estate, Private Equity and Credit, Infrastructure, Timber and Agriculture. Through its Real Estate arm, Manulife Investment Management develops and manages commercial real estate for thousands of customers around the globe. Its portfolio includes millions of square feet of office, industrial, retail and multi-family space strategically located in major metropolitan markets.   

About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than 150 years of financial stewardship to partner with clients across our institutional, retail, and retirement businesses globally. Our specialist approach to money management includes the highly differentiated strategies of our fixed-income, specialized equity, multi-asset solutions, and private markets teams—along with access to specialized, unaffiliated asset managers from around the world through our multimanager model. Our personalized, data-driven approach to retirement is focused on delivering financial wellness in retirement plans of all sizes to help plan participants and members retire with dignity.

Headquartered in Toronto, we operate as Manulife Investment Management throughout the world, with the exception of the United States, where the retail and retirement businesses operate as John Hancock Investment Management and John Hancock, respectively; and in Asia and Canada, where the retirement business operates as Manulife. Manulife Investment Management had C$854 billion (USD$645 billion) in assets under management and administration as of September 30, 2019¹. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit our website at manulifeinvestmentmgt.com.

About Harel Insurance Investment and Financial Services Ltd
Harel Insurance Investment and Financial Services Ltd is Israeli's largest insurance and financial group with more than 80 years of Insurance and Investment activities in Israel and around the Globe. Over the last decade the Group has expanded significantly its investment activities in various sectors and continues to strengthen its position in private markets and particular Investments such as Credit, Infrastructure and Real Estate. The Group assets under management as of September 30, 2019 totaled over NIS 270 billion (USD $77 billion). For additional information, please visit our website.

About Cardo Holdings Ltd.
Cardo is an Israeli investment banking boutique focused on alternatives and funds management industry. Cardo advises on the private placement of capital across a range of institutional offerings including closed and open-end funds, separate accounts and joint ventures, spanning the full financial services spectrum.

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SOURCE Manulife Investment Management

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