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 fund listed below, which are established as a segregated fund in accordance with the Insurance Companies Act (Canada).

On March 29, 2018, Alex Schwiersch, Portfolio Manager, departed Invesco. Mr. Schwiersch had recently been appointed Lead Portfolio Manager on Trimark Bond and the fixed income portion of Trimark Income Growth, and had been scheduled to formally assume these roles on March 31, 2018. 

Following Mr. Schwiersch's departure, Matt Brill and Todd Schomberg have assumed co-lead portfolio management responsibilities on these strategies. Both Mr. Brill and Mr. Schomberg are Senior Portfolio Managers based with Invesco Fixed Income (IFI) in Atlanta, but have no prior experience on Canadian fixed income mandates. We expect that they will largely leverage the research of the Atlanta-based global credit team and the experience of the remaining portfolio management team of three, which includes Jennifer Hartviksen, the sole remaining fixed income professional in Canada. Ms. Hartviksen relinquished her role as lead portfolio manager on these strategies on March 31st, but remains part of the portfolio management team. The current team structure may be temporary, however, as Invesco will look to make a senior hire in Canada in the near future.

Mr. Schwiersch's departure was clearly a complete surprise to Invesco, given his pending appointment to lead portfolio management positions. We had previously noted that the new Canadian fixed income structure created key person risk in the two remaining Canadian team members (Mr. Schwiersch and Ms. Hartviksen). Previous concerns about Invesco Canada's ability to attract and retain talent are heightened by this most recent loss.

Following these most recent changes, both Trimark Bond and Trimark Income Growth have been designated "On Watch."

Questions?

Please contact your Sun Life Financial Group Retirement Services representative.