Manulife Financial - 40-F annual report

 

(Check One)

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

200 Bloor Street East, NT 11, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4W 1E5
(416) 926-3000
(Address and Telephone Number of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

(Name, Address (Including Zip Code) and Telephone Number

(Including Area Code) of Agent For Service in the United States)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act. None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act. None.

For annual reports, indicate by check mark the information filed with this Form:

þAnnual Information Form             þ Audited Annual Financial Statements

     Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by filing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). If “Yes” is marked, indicate the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with such rule.

Yes o    No    þ

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes þ    No    o

 

 

The following documents, filed as exhibits 99.1, 99.2 and 99.3 hereto, are hereby incorporated by reference into this Annual Report:

(a) Certifications. See Exhibits 99.4 and 99.5 to this Annual Report on Form 40-F.

(b) Disclosure Controls and Procedures. As of the end of Manulife Financial Corporation’s (the “Company”) fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer. Based upon that evaluation, the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that as of the end of that fiscal year, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms and (ii) accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

(c) Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. The required disclosure has been provided under the heading “Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting” in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, filed as Exhibit 99.3 to this Annual Report on Form 40-F.

(d) Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm. The required disclosure has been provided under the heading “Report on Internal Controls under Standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States)” in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, filed as Exhibit 99.3 to this Annual Report on Form 40-F.

(e) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. No change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

The Board of Directors of the Company has determined that each of Messrs. Celeste, DeWolfe, Dineen, Graham, Kierans and Sawchuk (the “Financial Experts”) has the necessary qualifications to be designated as an “audit committee financial expert” (within the meaning of applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules). The Financial Experts are independent, as that term is defined by the New York Stock Exchange’s listing standards. The disclosure provided under the heading “Audit & Risk Management Committee” in the Company’s Renewal Annual Information Form, filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto, is incorporated by reference herein. The Board’s determination does not make

these directors “experts” for any purposes or impose greater duties, obligations or liabilities on them nor does it affect duties, obligations or liabilities of other members of the Board.

Code of Ethics.

The Company has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (“Code”) that applies to all directors, officers and employees, and that qualifies as a “code of ethics” as that term is defined in Form 40-F. The Code is available for viewing at:

Since the adoption of the Code, there have not been any amendments to the Code, other than technical or administrative amendments, nor have there been any waivers, including implied waivers, from any provision of the Code.

The following table represents the fees billed by Ernst & Young LLP to the Manulife Financial group of companies in 2006 and 2005.

The Audit and Risk Management Committee (“Audit Committee”) reviews all requests for proposed audit or permitted non-audit services to be provided by the Company’s independent auditor under the Audit Committee’s Protocol for Approval of Audit and Permitted Non-Audit Services (the “Protocol”). Under the Protocol, the Audit Committee annually reviews and pre-approves recurring audit and non-audit services that are identifiable for the coming year. The Protocol also requires that any audit or non-audit services that are proposed during the year be approved by the Audit Committee, or

by a member of the Audit Committee appointed by the Audit Committee and acting on its behalf.

All audit and non-audit services provided to the Company by Ernst & Young LLP have been pre-approved by the Audit Committee pursuant to the Protocol. The Audit Committee has reviewed the magnitude and nature of these services to ensure that they are compatible with maintaining the independence of the external auditor.

In addition to the discussion of risk in Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, filed as Exhibit 99.2 to this Annual Report on Form 40-F, the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, filed as Exhibit 99.3 to this Annual Report on Form 40-F, include the following disclosures related to off-balance sheet arrangements:

Note 6(d)     Securities Lending
Note 17       Variable Interest Entities
Note 18       Commitments and Contingencies
Note 20       Derivative Financial Instruments

The required disclosure has been provided under the heading “Contractual Obligations” in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis, filed as Exhibit 99.2 to this Annual Report on Form 40-F.

The Company has a separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act. The members of the Audit Committee are:

Disclosure Pursuant to the Requirements of the New York Stock Exchange.

Based on the standards established by the New York Stock Exchange, the Board of Directors of the Company has determined that all but one member of the Board is independent. Dominic D’Alessandro is not independent because he is the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. The Board has determined that no other Director is in a relationship with the Company that would cause the Director to lose his or her status as independent.

Each meeting of the Board and of its Committees is followed by an in camera meeting at which the independent Chair of the Board or the independent Chair of one of the Committees of the Board acts as Chair of the meeting.

Shareholders wishing to contact non-management Directors of the Company may write to the Chair of the Board, in care of the Corporate Secretary, at the head office of the Company, 200 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4W 1E5.

The Company has established corporate governance guidelines in accordance with the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange. These guidelines, which the Company calls Corporate Governance Practices, are available for viewing on the Company’s website at:

The Company’s corporate governance practices comply with the domestic issuer corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange Rules.

The Company has established Board committee charters in accordance with the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, which are available for viewing on the Company’s website at:

Requests for copies of these documents should be made by contacting the Corporate Secretary at the head office of the Company.

     The registrant undertakes to make available, in person or by telephone, representatives to respond to inquiries made by the Commission staff, and to furnish promptly, when requested to do so by the Commission staff, information relating to the securities in relation to which the obligation to file an annual report on Form 40-F arises or transactions in said securities.

     The Company has previously filed a Form F-X in connection with the class of securities in relation to which the obligation to file this report arises.

     Any change to the name or address of the agent for service of process of the registrant shall be communicated promptly to the Securities and Exchange Commission by an amendment to the Form F-X referencing the file number of the relevant registration statement.

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 40-F and has duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on March 27, 2007.