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Manulife Trust
Invest with flexibility, security and simplicity

Manulife Trust is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Bank, offering investments to individuals and services to institutional clients. Like Manulife Bank, Manulife Trust is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), which means eligible investments are separately protected.

Through Manulife Trust, you can access:

Our trustee services provide the legal framework, guidance and support clients such as mutual fund dealers and brokerage firms need to offer registered plans to their clients. Liaising with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as needed, we set up and maintain:

  • Registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), including locked-in plans
  • Registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), including locked-in plans
  • Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs)
  • Registered education savings plans (RESPs)

We consider other plan types on a case-by-case basis.

In our standard agency agreement, we maintain ultimate responsibility for most registered plans. Our services include:

  • Maintaining specimen plans and working with our clients to make revisions as legislation changes
  • Overseeing compliance with the Income Tax Act (Canada), CRA policies and the various pension acts
  • Monitoring and informing clients about industry activities that affect registered plans 

As is standard in these types of relationships, we delegate many administrative duties to our clients, including:

  • Custody
  • Recordkeeping
  • Accounting
  • Client relationship management
  • Tax reporting
  • Tax remittances to qualified third parties

When our clients delegate any of these functions, including to an external provider, they remain legally responsible for them.

  • We are a strong and qualified partner
    As a trust company, the Income Tax Act (Canada) permits us to be the issuer/carrier of registered plans for institutional clients.
  • We offer a robust registered plan framework
    We provide regulator-approved templates for declarations of trust and terms and conditions and standard locked-in addenda for each provincial pension jurisdiction in English and French (where applicable).
  • We proactively monitor and update documents and plans
    By ensuring plans are administered in accordance with current legislation, we reduce our clients’ legal costs and minimize the risk of plan registration repeals and penalties.
  • We make it the transition easy
    We facilitate the change from another trustee to us, coordinating the required plan amendment with the CRA and helping establish new specimen plans.
  • We provide value for money
    Our trustee staff are highly experienced and our fees are very competitive.