Manulife Investment Management Appoints Colin Purdie as New Chief Investment Officer, Public Markets

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BOSTON and LONDON, June 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Manulife Investment Management has announced the appointment of Colin Purdie, CFA, as new chief investment officer, public markets. Mr. Purdie will join the firm on December 1, 2023, succeeding Christopher P. Conkey, CFA, who is retiring from Manulife Investment Management at the end of 2024 after 13 years with the firm and an esteemed career spanning more than 40 years in asset management.

Mr. Conkey first joined Manulife in 2010 as the chief investment officer, global equities. He took on leadership responsibility for global fixed income in 2013 and the multi-asset solutions team in 2015. In 2017, he was appointed as the firm’s global CIO and head of public markets, serving in this key role and helping to form the firm’s global wealth and asset management segment. His leadership across all these elements has been a key driver of the growth in assets managed by public markets.

“We’re excited to have Colin join us and are deeply appreciative of Chris’s outstanding contributions to our business. When we built the global wealth and asset management segment and set its priorities, it was essential to focus on our clients and their objectives,” said Paul Lorentz, president and CEO, Manulife Investment Management. “With Chris’s leadership and guidance, we established a foundation of pursuing consistent returns through both market growth and volatility and expanded our solutions through organic team builds and acquisitions while also integrating ESG factors into our listed equity and fixed-income portfolios.”

“I’m proud of what we’ve delivered to clients over the past 13 years, and I’m confident that Colin will continue to build on the foundation that’s been established for our teams and our investors,” said Mr. Conkey. “We’ll work closely together to establish a deep understanding of where the teams have been and where they see the best opportunities for the future across asset classes to meet the evolving needs of our clients.”

Mr. Conkey will become a special advisor to the CEO when Mr. Purdie formally joins Manulife Investment Management. He’ll then focus on the leadership transition and shift to special projects within public markets and the broader organization for the remainder of his tenure.

As CIO, public markets, Mr. Purdie will lead the investment team with responsibility for all aspects of the public markets investment processes and the investment performance of its equity, fixed-income, and solutions-oriented strategies. He’ll also be accountable for the development and implementation of the firm’s investment philosophy, risk management approach, and ESG integration. Mr. Purdie will report to Paul Lorentz and be based in London.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Purdie, said, “I’m honored to join Manulife Investment Management. The firm is committed to working with clients on some of the biggest challenges investors face today. With more than 625 investment professionals—including one of the largest fixed-income teams in Asia—operating in key markets around the world, it’s well positioned to empower clients’ decision-making and help to build savings and retirement portfolios, assist with carbon transition goals, and ultimately help to secure a better tomorrow.”    

Mr. Purdie will join Manulife Investment Management from Aviva Investors, where he’s worked for more than a decade. At Aviva, he was most recently chief investment officer, liquid markets, where he led global teams across credit, equities, multi-asset and macro, ESG, and trading. He also served as chief investment officer, credit; global head of investment-grade credit; and portfolio manager, institutional credit. Prior to that, he worked at Aegon Asset Management, Charles Stanley (Sutherlands), and the UK Financial Services Authority. In 2022, Mr. Purdie was honored with the European CIO of the Year Award from Funds Europe, with judges recognizing Aviva’s ESG integration measures.

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 19 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We’re committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

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Manulife Investment Management, as of March 31, 2023. Manulife Investment Management’s global investment professional team includes expertise from several Manulife Investment Management affiliates and joint ventures; not all entities represent all asset classes.

Media contact, Elizabeth Bartlett, Manulife, Investment Management, Elizabeth_Bartlett@manulife.com                

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