Sun Life Financial completes acquisition of U.S.-based investment manager Prime Advisors, Inc.

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Sun Life Financial Inc. - Financial News

Jul 31, 2015, 09:29 ET

Sun Life Investment Management adds insurance asset management capabilities to U.S. institutional investment business

TORONTO, ON AND REDMOND, WA, July 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. ("Sun Life Financial") (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) and Prime Advisors, Inc. ("Prime") announced today that Sun Life Financial has completed the purchase of Prime, headquartered in Redmond, Washington. The acquisition was announced on June 30, 2015.

"The addition of Prime to the Sun Life Financial family strengthens Sun Life Investment Management's offering in the U.S. market," said Steve Peacher, President, Sun Life Investment Management, and Chief Investment Officer, Sun Life Financial. "With a strong focus on insurance clients, and a specialty in liability-based investing, we are proud to add Prime to our platform and are encouraged by the positive response from the market to date."

"The completion of this transaction signifies our commitment to building our business to meet the complex and evolving needs of our clients," said Don McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of Prime Advisors. "Joining Sun Life Investment Management positions us well for accelerated growth in creating integrated investment strategies for our clients."

Founded in 1988, Prime had approximately US$13 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2015. The firm is an established manager of fixed income portfolios with customized investment benchmarks that are designed to meet the specialized needs of U.S.-based insurance companies, predominantly in the property and casualty, health and life industries.

Prime will continue to operate as a standalone unit, however, it will also be a member company on the Sun Life Investment Management platform, which provides investment solutions to institutional investors. Prime will maintain its brand and maintain its offices in Redmond, Washington, and Windsor, Connecticut.

Forward-looking information

The expected combined third-party assets under management ("AUM") of Sun Life Investment Management, upon completion of the acquisition of Bentall Kennedy, is forward-looking information. It is based on the assumption that the acquisition of Bentall Kennedy, which was announced on June 16, 2015, will be completed. This forward looking information represents our current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events and are not historical facts. This forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and involves 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 information contained in this news release. All such forward-looking information is provided pursuant to the "safe harbour provisions" of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Forward-looking information is 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 information may not be appropriate for other purposes and undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information. 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. and Prime Advisors, Inc. in the United States. Upon completion of the acquisition of Bentall Kennedy, which was announced on June 16, 2015, these Sun Life Investment Management operations would have combined third-party assets under management of approximately $50 billion, as of June 30, 2015.

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.