Sun Life Financial, Inc. history, company profile (overview) and history video
Sun Life Financial Inc. is a financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It provides insurance, investments, financial planning, asset management, and other financial services.
OPERATIONS
Sun Life Financial Inc. operates through the following business sectors: Insurance, Investments, Financial advice and Asset management.
- Insurance – life, health, wellness, disability, critical illness, stop-loss, and long-term care insurance;
- Investments – mutual funds, segregated funds, annuities, and guaranteed investment products;
- Advice – financial planning and retirement planning services;
- Asset management – Pooled funds, institutional portfolios and pension funds.
HISTORY
Sun Life Financial was founded in 1865 by Matthew Hamilton Gault.
However, the company commenced business only in 1881 as Sun Mutual Life Insurance Company of Montreal.
In 1882, Sun Mutual Life Insurance Company of Montreal changed its name to Sun Life, Assurance Company of Canada.
In 1892, the company began operations in Hong Kong.
In 1893, it began operations in the U.K.
In 1895, the company began operations in the Philippines and the U.S.
During World War I, Sun Life was among the largest subscribers to War Bonds.
In 1919, Sun Life was the first company in Canada to offer group life insurance.
During World War II, the company’s overseas operations were significantly affected by the war, and the company was taking special measures to honor claims for the families of policyholders.
In 1982, Sun Life acquired the Boston-based investment management company Massachusetts Financial Services (MFS).
In 1995, Sun Life entered the Indonesian market.
In 1996, Sun Life Financial International was established.
In 1999, Sun Life formed the joint venture Birla Sun Life with Aditya V. Birla Group in India. It also formed Sun Life Everbright in China with China Everbright Group.
In 2000, Sun Life began trading on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges.
In 2002, Sun Life Financial and Clarica Life Insurance Company merged their operations.
In 2010, Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc. was launched.
In 2011, the joint venture Sun Life Grepa Financial was established in the Philippines, distributing insurance through the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
In 2012, Sun Life entered the Vietnam market and formed the joint venture PVI Sun Life with PVI Holdings.
In 2013, the company entered the Malaysian market with the joint ventures Sun Life Malaysia Assurance Berhad and Sun Life Malaysia Takaful Berhad, which were formed with Khazanah Nasional Berhad and CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. It also acquired 49% of Aviva’s PLC’s Malaysian insurance joint venture with lender CIMB Group.
In 2014, Sun Life Investment Management Inc. was formed.
In 2015, Sun Life Investment Management grew in the asset management market with three acquisitions: Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real estate investment advisors and service providers, and the U.S. institutional asset managers Prime Advisors and Ryan Labs.
In 2016, Sun Life acquired the Employee Benefits business of Assurant, Inc., creating one of the largest group benefits businesses in the U.S.
With more than 50,000 employees, Sun Life Financial Inc. is considered one of the world’s largest insurance companies. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the Largest Public Companies in the World, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.sunlife.com/en.
**Video published on YouTube by “Sun Life Canada“
