On Sept. 13, UV Insurance announced that it will be joining forces with Assumption Life to distribute segregated funds and registered investment accounts. The joint press release states that Assumption Life, a Moncton, New Brunswick-based mutual company, will continue to act as the insurer of its segregated fund portfolio. The partnership will allow UV Insurance to offer Assumption Life's Registered Investment Account (RIA), SmartSeries (target date funds) and Louisbourg Funds (managed by Louisbourg Investments), CI Funds (managed by CI Global Asset Management), Fidelity Funds (managed by Fidelity Investments) and Assumption Life Portfolios.
Réjean Boudreau, Vice-president and Chief of Organizational Development and Customer experience at Assumption Life, called this collaboration between two French-language mutuals inspiring. He told The Insurance Portal that his role is to oversee the implementation of the partnership developed and concluded by the CEOs of the two organizations: Sébastien Dupuis of Assumption Life and Christian Mercier of UV Insurance,
The two CEOs became acquainted when Dupuis took the helm of Assumption Life, Boudreau says. “There was a lot of chemistry from the get-go. The two CEOs are leading two francophone mutuals with a rich history and very deep values,” he continues, pointing out that Assumption Life was founded in 1903 and UV Insurance in 1889.
Strength in numbers
Both CEOs want to grow their respective businesses and ensure they meet the needs of their customers and business partners, Réjean Boudreau adds. “We each have our own distribution network. The two CEOs quickly saw an opportunity to do things together. Assumption Life gains the opportunity to develop a business relationship with a Quebec-based partner backed by a very solid distribution network. We can support UV Assurance in offering our range of investment products with our Vesta technology platform,” he says.
This platform, launched in 2020, lets advisors complete an application online in 10 minutes, Boudreau explains.
Like UV Insurance, Assumption Life has a distribution presence across Canada, including Quebec.
UV Insurance says the alliance allows the two mutuals to focus and strengthen their presence in the Canadian investment market. "We are two mutuals that share a similar mission and values when it comes to our insured members, which is why this type of partnership is a natural fit for us,” Julie Michaud, Senior Vice-President, Individual Insurance and Investment - Retirement at UV Insurance, explains in the release.
Mercury funds no more
Michaud told Insurance Portal that UV Insurance will continue to offer its line of guaranteed investment certificates (including the Uniflex line). However, the Mercury line of segregated funds will be closed at the end of 2021. It comprises nine segregated funds, including five index funds. “In terms of assets under management, it was not a large portfolio,” Michaud says, without commenting further.
“We hadn't reviewed this segregated fund line in several years. We did modernize our individual life technology platform, but we did not invest in technology or enhance our segregated fund offering. Our partners and advisors asked us to upgrade it. The partnership with Assumption Life lets us do this quickly by providing access to 47 segregated funds and to registered investment accounts,” she explains.
She said her company has gained access to a technology platform that is “as intuitive as ours is for individual life insurance. This platform also provides direct access to the Fundserv investment fund transactional system.”
The next move: Transfer funds
At Assumption Life, Réjean Boudreau says he is confident he can achieve good penetration in segregated funds “with the UV Insurance distribution network already in place in Quebec and the effort the insurer has made to explain the partnership to its partners and brokers.”
Boudreau declined to put a number on the objectives for the transfer of the Mercury funds to those of Assumption Life. “In recent years, insurers realized that to seize certain opportunities, they need to enter into partnerships,” he says. He believes that this partnership will allow both firms to achieve their objectives by offering UV Insurance customers an experience that meets their expectations.