Sun Life Financial to acquire pension business of FWD Hong Kong and enter into 15-year pension distribution agreement

Will strengthen Sun Life Financials' position in the Hong Kong pension market

TORONTO, Aug. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) announced today that Sun Life Hong Kong Limited ("Sun Life HK") will acquire the pension business of FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited ("FWD"), consisting of Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") and Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance ("ORSO") businesses. Sun Life HK and FWD will also enter into an exclusive 15-year distribution agreement that will allow Sun Life HK to distribute its pension products through FWD's agency force in Hong Kong. (Collectively the "transactions".)

"Expanding our pension business is a key priority for our Asia operations and deepens our wealth business in the region," said Dean Connor, President and CEO, Sun Life Financial. "With the growth expected in the MPF market to meet the needs of Hong Kong's ageing population, this is an attractive opportunity that fits with our global expertise in the pension market."

The transactions announced today, together with Sun Life HK's acquisition of the MPF business of Schroder Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited, will strengthen Sun Life HK's position as a leading MPF provider. These acquisitions will add HK$4.6 billion (C$769 million) in MPF assets under management ("AUM"), and bring Sun Life HK's combined AUM to HK$34.7 billion (C$5.8 billion).¹

"This partnership provides an excellent opportunity for us to expand our distribution network. It will further accelerate our already strong growth in the Hong Kong retirement market and follows our new strategic relationship with Schroder Investment Management," said Kevin Strain, President, Sun Life Financial Asia.

The transactions are expected to be completed in stages over the course of 2017 and 2018, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Forward-looking information
In this forward-looking information section, "we", "our" and "us" refer to Sun Life Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries and joint ventures. Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including, but not limited to, statements that are not historical or that are predictive in nature or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions. 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. The forward-looking statements in this news release represent our current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events as of the time of this news release 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 that are difficult to predict, including the assumption that the transactions will be completed. Except as may be required by applicable 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 objectives for the transactions, strategic priorities and business outlook following the transactions, and in obtaining a better understanding of our anticipated operating environment following the transactions. 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. Information about risk factors relating to us can be found in the annual information form of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2015 under the heading "Risk Factors" and other regulatory filings filed with or furnished to Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.

Use of non-IFRS financial measures
This news release includes certain forward-looking financial information using non-International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") financial measures, including AUM, as we believe that these measures provide information that is useful to investors in understanding our expected performance.

These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning, may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies and there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. Forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures cannot be reconciled to IFRS measures. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with IFRS.

About Sun Life Financial
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 has 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, 2016, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of C$861 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.

¹ AUM figures are at March 31, 2016.  Sun Life HK's acquisition of the Schroder MPF business is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.