Sun Life Global Investments and MFS Investment Management’s relationship for long-term success
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MUCH LIKE other rapidly consolidating sectors, wealth management is experiencing a profound transformation in how firms gain market share and stay competitive. The evolving client landscape, alongside the continuous democratization of wealth management, is making scale and capital investment increasingly critical.
Financial advisors look to large organizations to offer the solutions, capital, and expertise they need to serve their clients with distinction and build strong businesses, no matter what model they choose.
Sun Life Global Investments is the retail mutual fund arm of Sun Life, and benefits from the robust asset management capabilities of its parent company Sun Life, which holds $1.46 trillion in assets under management globally. Established in the 1860s, Sun Life has navigated wars, depressions, and increasingly rapid social and technological change to emerge as a global powerhouse.
Leaning on that pricing power and extensive global reach, Sun Life has invested significant resources in strategically acquiring specialized asset managers.
We bring the world to your portfolio. Building wealth today requires you to look beyond Canada’s borders. We are part of the Sun Life group of companies, a global asset manager with offices in nearly 20 countries and over $1 trillion under management. And we’ve built a truly global investment platform by combining the strength of Sun Life with world-class asset managers. Building a secure financial future in a world of permanent uncertainty has never been harder. But our unwavering commitment to helping investors build wealth and manage risk is why Canadians have increasingly embraced our products and services.
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Sun Life MFS Funds
“Both organizations are focused on the end client, creating long-term capital, and ensuring financial security for their lifetime”
Oricia Smith,
Sun Life Global Investments
Forty-two years ago, Sun Life made a significant acquisition: MFS Investment Management (MFS), the company that in 1924 created the first open-end mutual fund in the United States. Since then, MFS has been fine-tuning its active investment approach based on three pillars of success: collective expertise, long-term discipline, and active risk management. Fast forward to 2010, when Sun Life Global Investments hired MFS to sub-advise its Sun Life MFS funds line-up, including fixed income, Canadian, US, international, and global equities.
“Both organizations are focused on the end client, creating
long-term capital, and ensuring financial security for their lifetime,” says Oricia Smith, president of SLGI Asset Management Inc. and senior vice-president of investment solutions at Sun Life Canada. This cultural alignment has been the cornerstone of their 14-year relationship.
In an exclusive interview, Smith and Carol Geremia, president and head of global distribution at MFS, discussed the importance of their longstanding relationship. Smith emphasized that MFS has “been a sub-advisor for Sun Life Global Investments’ products since the start of our organization, which is incredible.”
Geremia elaborated on the value of taking a long-term view in investing, especially in today’s volatile environment. “The fear of putting money to work now, with cash on the sidelines, is a global issue. At the end of the day, inflation erodes capital, and investors need us to look ahead five, ten, fifteen, twenty years,” she noted.
Sun Life Global Investments’ philosophy is straightforward: no single investment manager can be the best in every category. Instead, Sun Life Global Investments taps into Sun Life’s vast global network to select the best from around the world. Enter MFS Investment Management as a key sub-advisor that has been enhancing its investment process for 100 years.
Coming out of the 1929 stock market crash, MFS wanted to better understand the companies it owned to ensure it was the best possible steward of clients’ capital in any environment. Launching one of the world’s first in-house research departments in 1932, MFS continued to evolve its platform so it would be better positioned for all market conditions, from World War II and the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, to name a few pivotal events.
“The fear of putting money to work now, with cash on the sidelines, is a global issue. At the end of the day, inflation erodes capital, and investors need us to look ahead five, ten, fifteen, twenty years”
Carol Geremia,
MFS Investment Management
“This use of proprietary research to create controlled, responsible growth is probably the most important part of a history that brings us to US$615.1 billion of assets under management today. Our long-term discipline and proprietary research are the cornerstones of our success.”
The days of being able to get returns passively or across various asset classes are gone. Geremia maintains that, in future, managing risk and being able to understand the businesses in the industries in which investors are involved will be absolutely necessary. Research and data remain crucial.
“That’s what investors need us to do. We are not always pounding the table about being active, but the era of persistently low rates has ended,” Geremia says, “We believe in maintaining a strong balance between equity and fixed income across various market segments. Even if central banks continue to reduce rates, we don’t expect the cost of capital to return to previous levels.”
Active risk management involves a rigorous process of identifying, assessing, and managing risks at every step of the investment process. Every member of the MFS investment team is responsible for ongoing risk assessment. This collective expertise ensures that each investment decision is informed by a diverse range of perspectives and deep market insights. The global collaboration allows MFS’s approximately 300 investment specialists worldwide to debate their viewpoints and analyze regions, industries, and capital structures comprehensively.
Sun Life Global Investments will also continue to benefit from this approach, says Smith. “When thinking ‘long term’ and ‘a history of innovation,’ it’s hard not to think of MFS. They continue to offer time-tested strategies to help grow assets for investors across the world. Sun Life Global Investments will continue to bring innovative solutions to Canadian investors, and we look forward to continuing to build on our strong relationship with MFS.
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A history rooted in shared values
The core components of success
Published October 07, 2024
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Benefit from MFS's active investment approach focused on collective expertise, long-term discipline, and active risk management
Sun Life Global Investments offers a range of strategies sub-advised by MFS, including fixed income, Canadian, US, international, and global equities as well as balanced
Sun Life MFS Global Core Plus Bond Fund
An actively managed global fixed-income fund seeking to generate current income with the potential for capital appreciation
The fund draws upon MFS Investment Management’s global fixed-income platform, combining collective expertise, thoughtful risk management, and long-term discipline
Can complement equities and domestic bonds: allocations to global bonds may help provide diversified sources of income and capital growth, and help reduce overall portfolio risk
What’s next for Sun Life Global Investments?
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MFS Investment Management Canada Limited is the sub-advisor to the Sun Life MFS Funds; SLGI Asset Management Inc. is the registered portfolio manager. MFS Investment Management Canada Limited has appointed MFS Institutional Advisors, Inc. to provide additional sub-advisory services.
SLGI Assets Management Inc. is the investment manager of the Sun Life family of funds. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the fund's prospectus. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
Sun Life Global Investments is a trade name of SLGI Asset Management Inc., Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and Sun Life Financial Trust Inc. all of which are members of the Sun Life group of companies.
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AUM as of August 2024.
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AUM as of February 29, 2024, MFS Corporate Fact Sheet.
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Copyright © 1996-2024 KM Business Information Canada Ltd.