Changes to Sun Life core investment platform - Addition of two new funds and re-opening of Sun Life MFS Global Value Segregated fund

Plan sponsors may wish to consider whether this investment news has any implications for the investment options available within their plans. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada purchases units of the funds listed below, which are established as segregated funds in accordance with the Insurance Companies Act (Canada).

Sun Life regularly reviews the core investment platform in response to client interest and evolving fund offerings in the market.

We are pleased to announce the addition of two new funds to our DC and DB core investment platform.

• Jarislowsky Fraser Fossil Fuel Free (JF FFF) Balanced Segregated Fund
• Sun Life Multi-Strategy Core Plus Bond Segregated Fund

Also, SLGI Asset Management Inc. (“SLGI”) (the manager of the fund) has reopened the Sun Life MFS Global Value Segregated Fund. The fund’s sub-advisor, MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. (MFS), previously closed the fund to new clients in January 2017 to manage the existing assets under management. Our governance activities continued throughout this period. MFS recently reviewed the fund's capacity and decided to re-open the fund to new clients.

All the segregated funds above are available to plan sponsors to add to their plans effective immediately.

About JF FFF Balanced:

The JF FFF Balanced Fund seeks to achieve a balance of income and capital appreciation. The fund invests in fixed income and equity securities of Canadian and non-Canadian companies. The Fund excludes companies with significant exposure to fossil fuels such as thermal coal, oil and natural gas.

The fund invests in securities directly, or in units of the following four underlying JF FFF funds:

• JF FFF Global Equity
• JF FFF Canadian Equity
• JF FFF Bond
• JF FFF Money Market

We also added JF FFF Canadian Equity, JF FFF Global Equity and JF FFF Bond to the core investment platform in July 2020.

The addition represents Sun Life’s commitment to provide funds that target lower carbon emissions for plan sponsors and their employees.

The JF FFF funds are socially responsible investment (“SRI”), negative-screened funds. However, the primary focus of Sun Life’s sustainable investment strategy continues to be to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) in current and future investment options. This includes funds that integrate ESG/sustainability criteria in all aspects of their investment process and portfolio construction.

About Sun Life Multi-Strategy Core Plus Bond:

The Sun Life Multi-Strategy Core Plus Bond Fund seeks to generate return in excess of the FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index on an annual basis. The fund has a multi-manager structure that provides exposure to both Canadian and global fixed income securities. The fund may invest up to 40% in global bonds.

SLGI is the investment manager of the fund. SLGI is responsible for the asset allocation and the underlying funds’ selection and monitoring. They may change the underlying funds and allocations over time (and within pre-set guidelines). They do this to take advantage of attractive opportunities or preserve capital.

The fund’s asset allocation is as follows:

This fund provides additional choice in the core plus fixed income category on the core platform. The funds offer exposure to additional sources of return relative to traditional (core) fixed income funds. They include investments outside of Canada, high yield, private fixed income and commercial mortgages. Demand for funds in the category continues to grow as investors search for yield and diversification in the fixed income market.

What action is required by you and your employees?

You and your employees are not impacted by these changes and do not need to take any action. You may consider whether the new funds would be suitable additions to your lineup.

Questions?

Please contact your Sun Life Group Retirement Services representative.