PLEASANT HILL, Calif., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Reflecting its commitment to helping financial advisors minimize volatility in client portfolios, Genworth Financial Wealth Management (GFWM), a subsidiary of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW), and an industry-recognized turnkey asset management provider adds Eaton Vance as a Portfolio Strategist for client accounts.

Eaton Vance provides individual investors, institutions and financial professionals with a broad range of investment solutions to meet their individual needs.  For more than 85 years, Eaton Vance's investment teams have followed accepted, time-tested principles of investing that emphasize avoidance of unnecessary risk and the pursuit of consistent, long-term returns.

Under this new agreement, financial advisors on GFWM's platform will have the option to select Eaton Vance as Portfolio Strategist for client accounts utilizing GFWM's Absolute Return and Tactical Unconstrained(SM) Asset Allocation approaches.

"We are very pleased to be adding Eaton Vance as a Portfolio Strategist on our platform," said Gurinder Ahluwalia, president of GFWM.  "It is one of the nation's most established investment management firms, with a longstanding reputation for diligence and sound judgment."  Ahluwalia adds, "This relationship reflects our commitment to providing comprehensive options to our financial advisors and their clients."

Following its belief that a diversified approach to asset allocation may reduce volatility without significantly reducing returns, GFWM offers a range of Strategic and Tactical asset allocation approaches following its "Sailing and Rowing" investment metaphor.  These approaches are designed to help financial advisors build client portfolios that offer both active risk management and strong potential for capital appreciation.    

Absolute Return is an Asset Allocation Approach that seeks modest returns through highly-active, extremely risk-sensitive management that may include alternative strategies.  The Tactical Unconstrained Asset Allocation Approach provides for broad flexibility in terms of asset class selections and allocation shifts, allowing the Portfolio Strategist to move in response to changes in market outlook. With the addition of Eaton Vance to these approaches, GFWM advisors and their clients now have even more choices when building investment portfolios.

"We could not be more excited about our partnership with GFWM," said Payson Swaffield, Chief Income Investment Officer for Eaton Vance. "We have a proven record of providing competitive investment performance across a broad range of investment disciplines for our clients. We believe our seasoned Customized Solutions investment team can help provide investors with access to these strategies in a manner that meets their specific investment goals."

About Genworth Financial Wealth Management, Inc.

Genworth Financial Wealth Management, Inc., helps independent Financial Advisors build great businesses by providing comprehensive support across every phase of their operation. We offer a sophisticated wealth management platform that enables advisors to craft customized solutions to meet a wide range of client needs; robust client relationship support and back office administration that reduces operational complexity; and pioneering practice management combining leading-edge industry research with real-world expertise and experience. Genworth Financial Wealth Management has helped over 4500 advisors raise over $18 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.genworthwealth.com.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 global financial security company. Genworth has more than $100 billion in assets and employs approximately 6,000 people with a presence in more than 25 countries. Its products and services help meet the investment, protection, retirement and lifestyle needs of more than 15 million customers. Genworth operates through three segments: Retirement & Protection, US Mortgage Insurance and International. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists. Genworth Financial, which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, visit Genworth.com. From time to time Genworth releases important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors" section of Genworth.com.

About Eaton Vance  

Eaton Vance is one of the oldest investment management firms in the United States, with a history dating to 1924.  Eaton Vance and its affiliates managed $165.4 billion in assets as of June 30, 2010, offering individuals and institutions a broad array of investment strategies and wealth management solutions.  The Company's long record of providing exemplary service and attractive returns through a variety of market conditions has made Eaton Vance the investment manager of choice for many of today's most discerning investors.  For more information about Eaton Vance, visit www.eatonvance.com.

SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.