The firm manages a record C$266 billion on behalf of external clients, which is a record figure, it said in a statement.

Institutional sales have included a US large-cap core strategy mandates with new clients in the US, China, Germany and South Korea; global equity strategy mandates in the UK and Japan; Asia small-cap equity strategy mandates in Canada; its first institutional Asia equity offshore separate account mandate in Malaysia; a strategic fixed income strategy mandates with new clients in the US, Canada and Japan. It also secured Canadian long duration and core-plus fixed income mandates in Canada and total return bond strategy mandates in the US.

Asia net sales from institutional and sub-advisory clients globally, including large sovereign wealth funds, exceeded $2 billion, the firm said.

Earlier this year, Manulife launched its private markets division, focusing on areas such as commercial real estate, commercial mortgages, private debt, timberland and farmland, biomass renewable energy, oil and gas, and mezzanine debt.

The firm also announced in the third quarter – as previously reported here – that it agreed to buy the Canadian business of UK-listed Standard Life; the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.