Manulife Financial CorporationMFC

Manulife's strong distribution capability will allow the firm to capture new business and provide a multitude of financial services.

Manulife's exposure to the rapidly growing Chinese marketplace provides a significant avenue for future growth.

Manulife has built up $5 billion worth of reserves for guarantees on its segregated funds. If the equity markets continue to rebound, the firm will continue to regain those reserves as income.

Manulife bolstered its financial position in late 2008 by raising over $2 billion in equity and opening a $2 billion term loan from a syndicate of six Canadian banks on very good terms. This demonstrates the company's ability to access the financial markets under almost any circumstance.

The firm's relatively strong financial shape puts it in a good position to pick up distressed assets cheaply. Read more 

Intense competition and market saturation in the North American market create an environment with potential pricing pressures and limited growth opportunities.

Although historically Manulife has proved adept at integrating acquisitions, its acquisitive nature puts it at repeated risk.

Innovative products can be quickly replicated by competitors and provide Manulife with no enduring benefit.

Management has not proved very wise in its capital allocation, as it spent billions repurchasing shares in 2006 and 2007, only to find itself forced to suspend share repurchases in the current environment with the share price trading at a significant discount to its previous repurchases. Read more