John Hancock Financial is an informal term for a United States insurance company which existed, in various forms, from its founding on April 21, 1862, until its acquisition in 2004 by the Canadian insurance company Manulife Financial. It was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent Patriot. The company continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife and its headquarters remains in Boston, Massachusetts. John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN) is the retail distribution company of John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.
Timeline of corporate name and structure changes
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- April 21, 1862, the charter of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company was approved by John A. Andrew, governor of Massachusetts.
- John Hancock advertisements and newspaper articles from the 1930s refer to it as the "John Hancock Life Insurance Company".
- 1940s source refer to it as the "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company".
- A July 2, 1998, Boston Herald story, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. chairman, is quoted: "We have always said quite clearly that we are not for sale," [Stephen L.] Brown said, moving to kill speculation about possible deals with BankBoston or Fleet Financial Group. "There are simply no merger talks going on."
- In 2000, led by David F. D'Alessandro, the company "demutualized", meaning that "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company" formally ceased to exist, and a new company named "John Hancock Financial Services, Inc." came into existence. Policyholders received shares in the new company in exchange for giving up ownership in the old. Life insurance continued to be sold by an entity known as the "John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company", a subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services Inc. On January 27, 2000, shares of Hancock stock started to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol JHF.
- On September 29, 2003, it was announced that Manulife Financial Corp. was acquiring John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. for $10.4 billion.
- On April 29, 2004, the existence of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. as an independent company formally ended.
- During 2004, Manulife merged its original U.S. domiciled business units with the newly acquired company under the John Hancock name.
- Manulife continues to use the John Hancock brand name for the majority of its U.S. businesses.
Investor Sentiment Index
John Hancock created an index called the "John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index" in 2011. The company describes the index as a "quarterly measure of investors' views on a range of investment choices, life goals and economic outlook."
References
External links
- John Hancock Financial
- Manulife Financial Corporation
