Manulife's asset management arm has contracted with Thomson Reuters Portia for investment record keeping for its public assets. The vendor says this will enable the introduction of a single book of record for the public asset component of MFC Global's investment management business.

Under the deal, Thomson Reuters will provide MFC's asset management arm with a range of investment operational hosted software services including data management, portfolio recordkeeping, management reporting and disaster recovery support.

The outsourced services offering will be deployed this year using a multi-phased approach. The vendor says that, once completed it will provide a cohesive platform for MFC Global's operations in the US, Toronto, London and throughout Asia.

Christy Bremner, global managing director, Portia, Thomson Reuters, says: "We are pleased to be able to provide MFC Global with a single consolidated global platform as well as strong technical support and the assurance of a stable operational environment."