Sun Life Financial facts for kids
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Sun Life Global Headquarters at One York Street in Toronto, Canada
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| Public | |
| Traded as | TSX: SLF, NYSE: SLF, PSE: SLF |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1865 Montreal, Quebec |
| Founders | Ricardo Amper |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Revenue |  CA$35.7 billion (2021) |
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Operating income
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 CA$5.09 billion (2021) |
| CA$3.93 billion (2021) |
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| AUM | CA$1.44 trillion (2021) |
| Total assets | CA$345.37 billion (2021) |
| Total equity | CA$28.07 billion (2021) |
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Number of employees
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50,000 (2021) |
| Subsidiaries |
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Sun Life Financial Inc. is a big Canadian company that helps people with their money. It is mostly known for offering life insurance, which helps protect families financially if something happens to a loved one.
Sun Life also manages a lot of investments, with over CAD$1.3 trillion in money they look after for others. They work in many countries around the world. In 2022, Sun Life was ranked number 235 on the Forbes Global 2000 list, which names the world's biggest public companies.
Contents
Sun Life's Story: A Look Back
How Sun Life Started
Sun Life began in Montreal, Quebec, in 1865. It was first called "The Sun Insurance Company of Montreal." An Irish immigrant named Matthew Hamilton Gault started it. The company officially began helping customers in 1871.
By the end of the 1800s, Sun Life had grown a lot. It expanded to places like Central America, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and India. The company kept growing and doing well for the next 50 years. It even managed to get through World War I and the big Great Flu Epidemic of 1918, which caused many policy claims due to a lot of deaths.
Building a Legacy
The first Sun Life building in Montreal was finished in 1918. Later, in 1933, the company added a new 26-story tower to its headquarters. This made the Sun Life Building the largest building in the entire British Empire at that time, based on its size.
Sun Life was first set up to offer life insurance, and that's still a big part of what they do. But they also manage a lot of money for people and companies. In 1919, Sun Life was the first Canadian company to offer group life insurance. This type of insurance covers many people at once, like all the employees at a company. They started offering group life plans in the U.S. in 1924.
World War II and Secret Safekeeping
During World War II, something interesting happened at the Sun Life Building. Important financial papers from the United Kingdom were secretly moved there for safekeeping. This was part of something called "Operation Fish."
There was a rumor that the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom were also hidden there. This rumor was spread on purpose in Montreal to explain why there was so much activity at the building. But it wasn't true!
Moving to Toronto
In 1977, the government in Quebec passed a new law called the Charter of the French Language. This law said that medium and large companies had to use the French language when talking to their French-speaking employees. Many English-speaking businesses in Quebec were not happy about this.
Because of these changes and some uncertainty about Quebec's future, Sun Life decided to move its main office. On January 6, 1978, Sun Life announced it would move its headquarters to Toronto, Ontario. The company said it was because of the uncertain situation in Quebec.
The move didn't happen all at once. Departments and employees moved over time. By 1980, about 300 head office employees were working in Toronto. In 1979, Sun Life bought land in downtown Toronto and built a new office complex called the Sun Life Centre, which opened in 1984.
Recent Changes
In 2008, Sun Life sold some of its shares in another company called CI Financial Income Fund to Scotiabank.
In 2019, Sun Life's real estate part of the business joined with another company and became BentallGreenOak Real Estate.
In December 2020, Dean Connor, who was the President and CEO, announced he would retire. Kevin Strain took over as the new President and CEO in August 2021.
Sun Life Around the World
Sun Life in North America
Canada
Sun Life is a major employer in Canada, especially in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. About 3,500 people work for Sun Life there, which is more than 40% of all Sun Life employees in Canada. In 2012, Sun Life celebrated 100 years of its Canadian head office building in Kitchener.
United States
Sun Life U.S. helps over 60,000 employers with group benefits for their workers. This makes it the sixth-largest group benefits business in the United States. In 2018, The Boston Globe named Sun Life U.S. one of the "Top Places to Work" in Massachusetts.
Sun Life Asset Management
Sun Life also has a big part of its business that manages money for people and companies. This is called asset management. Some of the companies that are part of Sun Life's asset management include:
- MFS Investment Management: This company helps individual people and large organizations invest their money.
- SLC Management: This group offers special investment solutions for things like pension plans and other big investors. It includes different parts like BentallGreenOak, which focuses on real estate.
In 2019, Sun Life planned to buy a large part of InfraRed Capital Partners. In 2020, they also planned to buy a part of Crescent Capital LP. As of March 31, 2019, SLC Management looked after about C$212 billion (US$159 billion) in assets.
SLC Management's Growth
SLC Management started in 2014. It was first called Sun Life Investment Management (SLIM). Its goal was to offer different ways for big investors to put their money into various types of assets. In June 2019, SLIM changed its name to SLC Management. It also combined some of its other investment businesses. In July 2019, its real estate part became BentallGreenOak Real Estate.
Sun Life in Asia
Sun Life works in eight countries in Asia: Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Sun Life first started doing business in China in 1892. It grew to be the biggest foreign insurance company there until World War II, when it had to close its operations. The company returned to China in 1995.
China
In 1995, Sun Life teamed up with the China Everbright Group to create Sun Life Everbright. In 2002, Sun Life Everbright was allowed to sell life insurance in Tianjin, China. It was the first foreign life insurance company to work in that city. In 2011, Sun Life Everbright was approved to set up a company that manages insurance assets.
Hong Kong
Sun Life has been working in Hong Kong since February 22, 1892. Its name changed from SunLife Financial (HK) Ltd to Sun Life Hong Kong Ltd. In 2005, Sun Life bought CMG Asia ComServe Financial. Sun Life Hong Kong has also taken over pension plans from other companies because its Hong Kong stock fund has performed very well.
India
Birla Sun Life Asset Management, now called Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (ABSLAMC), is a company that manages investments in India. It is a joint venture between Sun Life and the Aditya Birla Group from India. This partnership started in 1999.
ABSLAMC is one of the largest money managers in India, with over $34 billion U.S. in assets under management as of 2017. Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance started in 2001. Sun Life Financial first owned 26% of this company and later increased its ownership to 49%. The company has won awards for its financial reporting. They have also introduced new insurance and pension plans to help people plan for their future.
Philippines
Sun Life started working in the Philippines in 1895. By 2019, Sun Life was the top provider of insurance products for people in the Philippines. Even during the Philippine Revolution, Sun Life Philippines continued to grow.
During the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945), Sun Life even had secret operations. After the war, Sun Life was the only life insurance company that paid out death claims, even without all the usual paperwork. All the claims turned out to be real. Sun Life continued to do well even when the country faced tough economic times and Martial Law (1972-1981).
In 2011, Sun Life partnered with the Yuchengco Group of companies to create Sun Life Grepa Financial Inc. This allowed Sun Life to start offering "bancassurance," which means selling insurance through banks.
Being a Responsible Company
Sustainability Efforts
Sun Life is working to be more sustainable. In March 2021, they announced plans to invest an extra C$20 billion in sustainable projects over the next five years. They also want to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.
Diversity and Inclusion
Sun Life is committed to having a diverse workplace. They aim for 25% of their senior leaders to be from groups that have not always been fully represented. They also want to have an equal number of men and women in senior leadership roles by 2025.
Sun Life's Global Headquarters
Sun Life's main global office is in Toronto, Ontario, at One York Street. This building was designed to be very energy efficient and has a special "LEED Platinum" certification from the Canada Green Building Council. It's a very noticeable building on the Toronto skyline.
Before moving to One York Street, Sun Life's main office was at the Sun Life Centre on King Street. Even before that, the historic Sun Life Building in Montreal was the head office. That building is 122 meters (400 feet) tall and has 24 stories.
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Miami Dolphins Stadium Sponsorship
From 2010 to 2016, Sun Life bought the right to name the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins football team in Miami Gardens, Florida. This deal was reportedly worth about US$7.5 million each year.
Company Leaders
Here are some of the people who have been presidents of Sun Life:
- Thomas Workman, 1871–1889
- Robertson Macaulay, 1889–1915
- Thomas Bassett Macaulay, 1915–1934
- Arthur Barton Wood, 1934–1950
- George Wesley Bourke, 1950–1962
- Alistair Matheson Campbell, 1962–1970
- Anthony Rivers Hicks, 1970–1971
- Thomas Maunsell Galt, 1972–1978
- George F. S. Clarke, 1978–1983
- John A. Brindle, 1984–1986
- John R. Gardner, 1987–1996
- Donald A. Stewart, 1996–1999
- C. James Prieur, 1999–2006
- Jon A. Boscia, 2008–2011
- Dean A. Connor, 2011–2021
- Kevin D. Strain, 2021–
The current members of Sun Life's board of directors (people who help guide the company) are:
- Scott F. Powers (Chair of the Board)
- Deepak Chopra
- Stephanie L. Coyles
- Ashok K. Gupta
- M. Marianne Harris
- David H.Y. Ho
- Helen M. Mallovy Hicks
- Marie-Lucie Morin
- Kevin D. Strain (President & CEO)
- Barbara G. Stymiest
