MANULIFE Financial cut 250 jobs in its wealth and asset management unit, reducing staff at offices in the US, Canada, the UK and Asia.

“Like every other asset manager, we are weathering sustained market volatility and, for the first time in 15 years, a market cycle of higher-for-longer interest rates,” Paul Lorentz, chief executive officer of Manulife Investment Management, said in a memo to employees, first reported by Ignites, a fund industry publication.

Financial firms are continuing to reduce headcount in response to mounting economic and geopolitical uncertainties, higher rates and a slower pace of dealmaking. Wells Fargo & Co is cutting 40 to 50 jobs in its corporate and investment banking division, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday (Nov 14), citing sources familiar with the matter.

Canadian financial institutions have been firing people as they try to lower their costs going into 2024. National Bank of Canada cut jobs in its capital markets business, while Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia all announced layoffs in recent months. In September, iA Financial said it was eliminating positions in its capital markets business, and ending institutional activities including equity research.

Manulife is going ahead with job cuts after reporting a boost in third-quarter earnings from its business in Asia, where insurance sales in Hong Kong to mainland Chinese visitors continue to improve after the loosening of pandemic travel restrictions.

The Toronto-based insurer and asset manager said core earnings grew by 28 per cent to C$1.74 billion (S$1.7 billion), or 92 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with analysts’ expectations of 83 cents, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. BLOOMBERG

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