Foresters Financial announced May 15 that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Fiera Capital to sell the outstanding shares of Foresters' Canadian asset management business, Foresters Asset Management Inc., to Fiera.

Forester’s says this transaction aligns with its strategic plan “to continue to focus on and invest in its core life insurance business.” It also follows its April announcement to sell assets related to its U.S. asset management business.

"This transaction is the natural evolution of executing on our 5-year strategic plan,” said Jim Boyle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Foresters Financial. “It puts us in a position of strength as we focus on streamlining and optimizing life insurance products for middle-market families, a largely underserved and underinsured group in both Canada and the U.S."

Fiera says it will be merging the Foresters Asset Management business into its existing Canadian operations.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and unitholder approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.