Further expands Sun Life Investment Management's
institutional investment business
in the U.S.
TORONTO, ON and REDMOND, WA, June 30,
2015 /CNW/ - Sun Life Investment Management and Prime
Advisors, Inc. ("Prime") announced today an agreement whereby Sun
Life Financial Inc. ("Sun Life") (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) will
purchase Prime from the firm's current owners. Prime is an
investment management firm specializing in customized fixed income
portfolios, primarily for U.S. insurance companies. As of
May 31, 2015, the firm had
approximately US$13 billion in assets
under management on behalf of clients.
The acquisition is part of Sun Life's strategy to broaden its
asset management pillar by expanding and diversifying the
capabilities of Sun Life Investment Management, which provides
investment services to third parties and manages Sun Life's general
account. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter
of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition
will be funded internally with cash and is not material to the
results of Sun Life Financial Inc. Other terms of the transaction
are not disclosed.
"With its customized approach to liability-based investing for
insurance companies, Prime Advisors is a natural fit as we continue
to build our Sun Life Investment Management organization," said
Steve Peacher, President, Sun Life
Investment Management, and Chief Investment Officer, Sun Life
Financial. "Prime has a strong team with extensive experience in
managing assets and providing investment-related services to
institutional investors. The addition of Prime together with our
recently announced acquisition of Bentall Kennedy and completed
acquisition of Ryan Labs Asset Management will grow Sun Life
Investment Management's third-party assets under management to a
combined C$50 billion in just over a
year, and give us an excellent platform for serving institutional
clients and expanding our business in the U.S."
"We are very pleased to join Sun Life Financial and to continue
providing our clients with the same high level service and
investment focus we have committed to since our founding. Sun Life
shares our understanding of the unique needs of insurance companies
and fixed income investors. We look forward to offering our clients
additional asset management resources and the added benefits of a
global, highly respected financial organization," said Don McDonald, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Prime Advisors. "This is an important next step for our
firm as we continue developing our business and serving our
clients."
Following completion of the transaction, Prime will operate as a
standalone unit of Sun Life Investment Management. Prime will
retain its brand and maintain its offices in Redmond, Washington, and Windsor, Connecticut. It will continue to be
managed by its current team, headed by Don
McDonald who will report to Steve
Peacher.
Berkshire Capital Securities LLC served as financial advisor and
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP as legal advisor to Sun Life.
Lane Powell PC served as the legal
advisor to Prime.
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in
this news release are forward-looking, including, but are not
limited to the expected completion date of the acquisition of Prime
Advisors, Inc. (the "Transaction") and other statements that are
not historical or are predictive in nature or that depend upon or
refer to future events or conditions. Forward-looking statements
may include words such as "aim", "anticipate", "assumption",
"believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "goal", "intend", "may",
"objective", "outlook", "plan", "project", "seek", "should",
"initiatives", "strategy", "strive", "target", "will" and similar
expressions. The forward-looking statements in this news release
represent our current expectations, estimates and projections
regarding future events and are not historical facts. These
forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future
performance and involve risks and uncertainties and are based on
key factors and assumptions are difficult to predict. Except as may
be required by Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements
contained in this news release. All such forward-looking statements
are made pursuant to the "safe harbour provisions" of applicable
Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are presented to assist investors and
others in understanding our expected financial position and results
of operations as at the date of this news release, as well as our
objectives for the transaction, strategic priorities and business
outlook following the transaction, and in obtaining a better
understanding of our anticipated operating environment following
the transaction. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking
statements may not be appropriate for other purposes and undue
reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements.
Additional information about important factors that could cause
actual results to differ from expectations can be found in the
annual information form of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year
ended December 31, 2014 under the
heading "Risk Factors" and other regulatory filings filed or
furnished to Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available at
www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.
About Prime Advisors, Inc.
With offices in
Redmond, Washington, and
Windsor, Connecticut, Prime
Advisors, Inc. is a federally registered investment advisory firm
focused primarily on managing investment grade bond portfolios for
the insurance industry. Since 1988, Prime has worked to create
integrated investment strategies, linking its clients' financial
goals with current capital market opportunities. Prime understands
that no single approach or one set of guidelines applies to every
company. Prime's Disciplined Approach(SM) to the
complexities of managing insurance company investment portfolios
gives a unique ability to develop customized solutions that
integrate investment strategy with the realities of an insurance
company's operations.
About Sun Life Investment Management
Sun Life
Investment Management is an institutional investment management arm
of Sun Life Financial that includes the investment operations of
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, Sun Life Investment Management Inc. in
Canada, and Ryan Labs Asset
Management Inc. (acquired April 2,
2015) in the United States.
As of March 31, 2015, these Sun Life
Investment Management operations had combined assets under
management of $141 billion.
About Sun Life Financial
Celebrating 150 years in
2015, Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial
services organization providing a diverse range of protection and
wealth products and services to individuals and corporate
customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in a
number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United
States, the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Hong Kong, the
Philippines, Japan,
Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March
31, 2015, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had
total assets under management of $813
billion. For more information please visit
www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars unless
stated otherwise.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc. - Financial News