TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2003 – Sun Life Financial Inc. has been ranked the number one defined contribution pension plan supplier in Canada in terms of assets under administration according to the 2003 Defined Contribution Plan Report, published by Benefits Canada magazine.
Sun Life Financial also out-ranks all of its competitors in Canada in the following product categories: Group RRSPs, Deferred Profit Sharing Plans, and Money Purchase Pension Plans, according to Benefits Canada.
These top rankings are particularly noteworthy given that the company has just completed a two-year project to integrate Clarica Life. The integration involved converting more than 400,000 pension plan members and $10 billion of pension assets to a common administration system – the largest integration of its kind in the Canadian defined contribution industry.
Kevin Dougherty, Vice-President, Group Retirement Services, said “Conversion of the Group Retirement Services business unit was a key priority during integration, as was a commitment to maintaining business momentum. We have more than delivered on both of these priorities as demonstrated by the Benefits Canada ranking.”
“Throughout the integration we promised exceptional service to our existing clients, and we kept a focus on new business, with the result that we have added new clients from coast to coast. Coming out ahead of our competitors after a year of tremendous change is a real testament to the hard work and dedication of our people,” said Dougherty.
Sun Life Financial’s Group Retirement Services division is the leading supplier of pension plan services in Canada with more than $25 billion of assets under administration, serving one out of every three defined contribution plans in Canada.
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Tracing its roots back to 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2003, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of CDN$348.5 billion. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol SLF.
