The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that its Megastar portfolio outperformed the market by 9.4 percentage points since last year. The Globe's Norman Rothery writes that Manulife Financial was included in last year's Megastar portfolio and remains on it for this year. It is one The Globe's top 20 picks for 2024. Manulife Financial provides life insurance and wealth management to individuals and institutions primarily in Asia, Canada and the U.S. The company is based in Toronto and trades near 1.3 times book value while paying a hefty 5.1-per-cent dividend yield. The Globe's Rob Carrick recommended buying Manulife on Oct. 15, 2022, when the shares were going for $22. The Globe reported on Feb. 18, 2023, and May 12, 2023, that RBC Capital Markets analyst Darko Mihelic had reiterated his "sector perform" recommendation for Manulife when it could be had for $26.72 and $25.58. The Globe reported on Nov. 3, 2023, that Scotia Capital analyst Meny Grauman had reaffirmed his "sector outperform" call for Manulife when it was worth $25.48. The Globe reported on Nov. 10, 2023, that TD Securities analyst Mario Mendonca had reaffirmed his "action list buy" recommendation for Manulife when it was worth $25.79.