At a recent investor’s gathering hosted by Desjardins, the Desjardins Toronto Conference, Sun Life’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, Tim Deacon discussed the company’s earnings, alongside its leadership plans for the company’s asset management business and earnings growth in the Canadian business.
Deacon says there are no shortage of priorities in the company but says the first he wanted to talk about was the company’s excitement about the momentum of its asset management business. “We just surpassed $1.6-trillion of assets under management (AUM),” he says. “In some ways, I feel like we’re just getting started.”
He attributes the sentiment to the company’s recent work to formalize its asset management businesses under common leadership. He says the formalization of the asset management business’ leadership will support the company’s return on equity (ROE) ambitions.
A mathematical outcome
“A year ago, having achieved our 18 per cent ROE, it felt necessary to update that guidance, having already achieved it. We did that on the basis of our five-year strategic plan, which we perform every year. We do a five-year projection. When we set the 20 per cent objective, it wasn’t a stretch or ambition, it was a mathematical outcome,” he told those gathered for the presentation. “The formalization of the asset management pillar that I spoke about will further support that.”
In Canada, meanwhile, he says the company has been very pleased with the segment’s performance, as Canadian underlying ROE is close to 30 per cent. “We had record earnings for a few reasons,” he says, listing favourable insurance experience, particularly in the long-term disability business and higher fee income in the company’s asset management and wealth management businesses. “We still think there’s really strong, healthy fundamentals and still room to grow in the Canadian market,” he says. Deacon also credits the Canadian business, along with the company’s business in Asia for contributing to the company’s performance. “We’re really excited about the future potential for those businesses, as well.”
