BOSTON, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock
recently launched a new Continuing Education (CE) course intended to
help financial advisors and their clients plan and implement investment
and tax strategies amid an uncertain tax environment. Advisors
interested in taking the course should contact their local John Hancock
wholesaler about dates and times in their geographical area.
"Given
the likelihood of increased income tax rates, it's important to review
financial, retirement and estate-planning objectives with your clients,"
says John Hancock Special Markets attorney Brandon Buckingham.
"The uncertainty of the future tax environment could create some
planning obstacles, and so we strongly urge individuals to meet with
their financial and tax advisors to determine what they could do now to
help mitigate the costs of future tax hikes."
Buckingham
believes that the future tax environment is uncertain at best but will
likely result in rising taxes. "There will be changes in how ordinary
income, capital gains, dividends, gifts and estates are taxed," he
notes. "In order to avoid unintended consequences, proper planning
should be made to ensure that client's financial, investment, retirement
and estate planning goals and intentions are satisfied and not
adversely affected by changes to the tax code."
John Hancock
makes its Special Markets team available for consultation with
financial professionals. The team is comprised of attorneys and
licensed specialists with extensive experience, available to provide
assistance in the application of advanced planning concepts. Areas of
expertise include qualified plans, IRAs, and estate, trust, charitable
and tax planning.
About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John
Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading
Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers
in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife
Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States,
Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of
financial protection products and wealth management services through its
extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. For
more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong,
reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most
significant financial decisions. Funds under management by Manulife
Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$446 billion (US$440 billion) as at March 31, 2010.
Manulife
Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and
under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet
at www.manulife.com.
The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at www.johnhancock.com.
Circular
230 Notice: This document does not constitute legal or tax advice with
respect to any taxpayer. It was neither written nor intended for use
by any such taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties, and it
cannot be so used. Any taxpayer receiving it should seek advice based
on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax
advisor.
SOURCE John Hancock Financial
