Sun Life Investment Management adds leading North American real
estate investment capabilities to institutional investment
platform
TORONTO,
Sept. 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Sun Life
Financial Inc. ("Sun Life Financial") (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) and
Bentall Kennedy Group ("Bentall Kennedy") announced today that Sun
Life Financial has completed the purchase of Bentall Kennedy, one
of North America's largest real
estate investment advisors and providers of real estate
services.
"Today, Sun Life Investment Management achieved a significant
milestone, adding the premier real estate investment expertise of
Bentall Kennedy to our high calibre real estate and commercial
mortgage investment capabilities," said Steve Peacher, President, Sun Life Investment
Management, and Chief Investment Officer, Sun Life Financial. "This
transaction continues to expand and diversify Sun Life Financial's
asset management pillar as part of our growth strategy, and further
extends and strengthens our offering to institutional investors
seeking alternative asset classes."
With over 100 years of history, Bentall Kennedy is a leading
real estate investment company serving a global base of
institutional clients and investors. Bentall Kennedy specializes in
real estate investment management and real estate services,
including property management and leasing. As of June 30, 2015, Bentall Kennedy had assets under
management of approximately $28
billion and provided real estate services across 91 million
square feet of properties.
"We are excited about the additional capabilities and resources
that Bentall Kennedy will have as a Sun Life Investment Management
company to further strengthen our North American real estate
platform," said Gary Whitelaw, Group
Chief Executive Officer of Bentall Kennedy. "We have seen
overwhelmingly positive response to this next step in our evolution
from our clients, from our industry and from our employees. We look
forward to working together with our new Sun Life colleagues to
continue to deliver exceptional client service and consistently
strong results."
Bentall Kennedy continues to be managed by its current team, led
by Gary Whitelaw, who joins the Sun
Life Investment Management leadership team, reporting to
Steve Peacher. Bentall Kennedy
retains its brand and will operate as a unit of Sun Life Investment
Management, which provides investment services to third parties and
manages Sun Life Financial's general account assets. The two firms
will combine their real estate and commercial mortgage investment
management teams to have approximately $48
billion in assets under management, serving over 550
institutional clients and investors in these asset classes.
Bentall Kennedy's management team unanimously supports the
transaction and is committed to continuing top-tier service and
strong client relationships. Bentall Kennedy's former institutional
shareholders, the British Columbia Investment Management
Corporation (bcIMC) and the California Public Employees' Retirement
System (CalPERS) will continue as key clients of Bentall Kennedy
under Sun Life Financial's ownership.
RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor and McCarthy
Tétrault LLP as legal advisor to Sun Life Financial Inc. Hodes
Weill Securities, LLC served as financial advisor, Alexander
Capital as Canadian sub-advisor, and Davies Ward Phillips &
Vineberg LLP as legal advisor to Bentall Kennedy.
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking,
including the statement concerning bcIMC and CalPERS continuing as
clients of Bentall Kennedy, which is predictive in nature and
depends upon or refers to future events or conditions. 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. The
forward-looking statements in this news release represent our
current expectations 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. 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.
Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or
implied by the forward-looking statements in this news release due
to various risk factors. These risks all could have an impact on
the business relationships of Sun Life Financial and Bentall
Kennedy (including with future and prospective employees,
customers, distributors and partners) and could have a material
adverse effect on our current and future operations, financial
conditions and prospects.
Additional information about risk factors 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 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 June 30,
2015, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total
assets under management of $808
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.
About Sun Life Investment Management
Sun Life Investment Management is an institutional investment
management arm of Sun Life Financial. Sun Life Investment
Management includes the investment operations of Sun Life Assurance
Company of Canada, Sun Life
Investment Management Inc. in Canada, Ryan Labs Asset Management Inc. and
Prime Advisors, Inc. in the United
States, and Bentall Kennedy Group in North America. These Sun Life Investment
Management operations have combined third-party assets under
management of over $50 billion, as of
June 30, 2015.
About Bentall Kennedy Group
Bentall Kennedy is one of North
America's largest real estate investment advisors and one of
its foremost providers of real estate services. Bentall Kennedy is
a recognized global leader in Responsible Property Investing,
currently ranked first globally in its category in the Global Real
Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) study, the broadest measure
of governance quality and sustainability performance in the global
real estate industry. Bentall Kennedy is a member of UN Principles
for Responsible Investment (PRI) and has received the Energy Star
Partner of The Year—Sustained Excellence Award for the past 5
years.
The GRESB benchmark, based in the
Netherlands, is committed to assessing the sustainability
performance of real estate portfolios around the globe. They
conduct an annual survey that measures the ESG performance of
listed and private property funds. The 2014 GRESB study included
637 participants covering 56,000 buildings with an aggregate value
of US$2.1 trillion. The published
report cites the organization and/or fund ranked first for each
asset class; retail, industrial, office, residential, healthcare
and hotels, and a diversified category in each of the following
regions; North America,
Europe, Asia, Australia and New
Zealand. Bentall Kennedy ranked as the top performer among
the 157 companies globally in the Diversified category, including
all its asset classes. Bentall Kennedy was ranked as the top firm
globally for the Diversified property type in the 2014 GRESB
study.
The Energy Star Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award
is issued by Energy Star and recognizes Bentall Kennedy's
continuous commitment to improve the energy performance of its real
estate portfolio through the use of Energy Star tools and
resources. Energy Star is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
voluntary program, which was established in 1992. It promotes the
adoption of energy efficient products, practices and services.
Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars unless
stated otherwise.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.