Sun Life Financial Inc. announced February 1 that it has purchased a 51 per cent stake in United States retail distribution firm, Advisors Asset Management Inc. (AAM) At the same time, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada announced that it has completed the sale of its association, affinity and group creditor business, also known as its sponsored markets business, to Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company.
Following the completion of the unrelated deals, AAM will become part of SLF Management, Sun Life’s institutional fixed income and alternative asset manager. It will also become the U.S. retail distribution arm for that firm, with exclusive rights to market and promote the alternative investment products in the U.S. retail market. With a team of more than 270 professionals in nine U.S. states, AAM oversees US$40.5-billion in assets as of December 31, 2022.
The Canadian Premier deal, meanwhile, is the completion of an agreement first announced in December 2021. “Sponsored markets include a variety of association and affinity and group creditor clients,” the company wrote in a 2021 announcement about the deal. “This transaction will see over 100 plan sponsors and roughly 1.5-million insured clients and plan members or customers move from Sun Life to Canadian Premier.”
