TORONTO, May 7 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial Corp, Canada's largest insurer, reported a lower first-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by weakness in U.S. wealth management sales and the impact of energy holdings on its investment business.
However, the Toronto-based company recorded a rise in assets under management to C$821 billion ($680 billion) and increased its quarterly dividend.
The company's net profit fell to C$723 million, or 36 Canadian cents a share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with C$818 million, or 42 Canadian cents a share, in the same period last year.
Core profit rose to 39 Canadian cents a share, from 37 Canadian cents a share a year earlier. ($1 = 1.2067 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by John Tilak; editing by David Clarke)