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. They are established as segregated funds under the Insurance Companies Act (Canada).

In July 2021, CI Global Asset Management (CI GAM) announced that Stephen Groff departed the firm. Groff was a co-lead portfolio manager of the CI Canadian Equity fund (formerly CI Cambridge Canadian Equity fund) and was also responsible for the Canadian equity component of the CI Canadian Asset Allocation fund (formerly CI Cambridge Asset Allocation fund). Groff had worked on the CI Canadian Equity fund for over 10 years and had been a co-PM since June 2017.

Co-lead portfolio manager Peter Hofstra will assume Groff’s responsibilities on the CI Canadian Equity fund. Hofstra has over 18 years of investment management experience. He joined Harbour Advisors, a division of CI GAM, in 2017. He will work alongside Bryan Brown who joined the strategy in June 2021.The fund’s investment objectives, style and process won't change.

Both Hofstra and Brown will now also assume new co-portfolio manager responsibilities of the Canadian equity component of the CI Canadian Asset Allocation fund. The fund's investment objective, style and process won't change. The portfolio managers who oversee the asset mix, fixed income and non-Canadian equity portions also remain in their current roles:

  • Bob Swanson: asset mix.
  • Paul Marcogliese: fixed income.
  • Danesh Rohinton: non-Canadian equities.

Earlier this year, we announced the retirement of Brandon Snow, who was co-lead portfolio manager on the two funds. CI GAM added Hofstra to the CI Canadian Equity fund, replacing Snow before his retirement in November 2020. At that time, Groff also took over Snow’s responsibilities within the CI Canadian Asset Allocation fund.

GRS Investment Solutions’ View

The two funds were already on the Watch list in the Additional Monitoring category. This was due to the retirement of co-portfolio manager Brandon Snow and the legacy Cambridge team’s integration into CI GAM. Following the sudden departure of the lead Canadian Equity portfolio manager Stephen Groff, the two funds are now On Watch.

Groff’s departure appears to have been a surprise to CI GAM. The timing is unfortunate given his increased responsibilities and his tenure on the CI Canadian Equity fund. Hofstra is knowledgeable, but much of his time is dispersed among a significant number of other CI GAM strategies. Brown joined Sentry, a division of CI GAM, in 2013. He’s the lead manager of the Sentry All Cap Income Fund and co-manager on Sentry Canadian Income fund. He focuses on North American dividend and income-paying securities. Given Hofstra’s workload, we expect Brown to perform much of the day-to-day portfolio management responsibilities on the CI Canadian Equity fund. Hofstra will still have significant influence on the portfolio.

For the CI Canadian Asset Allocation fund, CI GAM expects Hofstra and Brown to manage the Canadian equity component similarly to the CI Canadian Equity fund. They will consider Rohinton’s global equity positions in their Canadian equity weight decisions.

The changes to the portfolio management teams in the wake of Groff’s departure appear to be reactive, rather than planned. We can’t rule out the possibility of further changes at the firm. The new CI GAM structure provides significant additional research staff, although not dedicated to the legacy Cambridge strategies. We expect short-term distractions as the analyst roles and coverages within CI GAM shift. We’ll continue to monitor the funds closely in upcoming quarters and provide updates as necessary.

Questions?

Please contact your Sun Life Group Retirement Services representative.