Sun Life 2012 Annual Report Download - page 22

Overview
Corporate Overview
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key
markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia,
India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2012, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had
total assets under management of $533 billion.
We manage our operations and report our financial results in five business segments: SLF Canada, SLF U.S., MFS, SLF Asia and
Corporate. The Corporate segment includes SLF U.K. and Corporate Support operations. Our Corporate Support operations includes
our run-off reinsurance business and investment income, expenses, capital and other items not allocated to other business segments.
Information concerning these segments is included in our annual and interim Consolidated Financial Statements.
Mission
To help customers achieve lifetime financial security.
Vision
To be an international leader in protection and wealth management.
Strategy
We will leverage our strengths around the world to help our customers achieve lifetime financial security and create value for our
shareholders.
Our strategy is based on growing our diverse set of businesses where we have important market positions and can leverage strengths
across these businesses. We have chosen to be active in businesses that are supported by strong growth prospects, demographic
trends and long-term drivers of demand for the insurance industry – the aging of baby boomers, the downloading of responsibility from
governments and employers to employees and the growth of the middle class in the emerging markets of Asia. In 2012, we made
considerable progress on our strategy by focusing our resources on four key pillars for future growth:
• Becoming the best performing life insurer in Canada
• Individual Insurance & Investments moved up to second position in the Canadian retail life market as measured by LIMRA.
Strategic actions taken across both the life and wealth businesses resulted in a more profitable mix of business, including
changes to our segregated fund, universal life and critical illness insurance product portfolios, and the launch of Sunflex
Retirement Income, an innovative new payout annuity product.
• The Sun Life Financial Career Sales Force grew by 119 advisors in the year to a total count of 3,713 advisors and managers.
• GB retained the #1 group life and health insurance provider position in the 2011 Fraser Group Universe Report (issued in July,
2012), based on BIF. We continued to experience growth in e-Claims and launched a new employee assistance group benefits
product, RightDirections, in partnership with Solareh.
• GRS continued to build on its leadership position in the defined contribution industry, capturing 50% of the total defined
contribution market activity in the first nine months of 2012 as measured by LIMRA. GRS was also ranked #1 in total assets
across all pension products in the December 2012 Benefits Canada magazine (based on June 2012 data) and achieved 54%
market share in the Defined Benefit Solutions market (as of the third quarter of 2012, as measured by LIMRA).
• Becoming a leader in group insurance and voluntary benefits in the United States
• SLF U.S. expanded the EBG distribution organization by adding experienced sales representatives, creating a Small Business
Center and building a dedicated voluntary benefits distribution team. SLF U.S. had approximately 200 sales professionals
actively selling group and voluntary benefits products at year end, representing an increase of approximately 35% from year-end
2011.
• EBG launched a new voluntary benefits suite of products, which includes long-term disability, short-term disability, critical illness,
cancer and customized disability, and made enhancements to its existing voluntary life and dental products.
• EBG enhanced its enrolment solutions, by simplifying employer benefits administration and expanding its portfolio of broker
tools, through partnerships with BeneTrac, bswift and benefitsCONNECT.
• Sales in EBG increased 26%, of which voluntary benefits sales increased 81% from 2011.
• Growing our asset management businesses globally
• Sun Life Financial’s AUM surpassed $500 billion in 2012.
• MFS had record gross sales in 2012 of US$86 billion. MFS had US$29 billion of net in-flows, and ended 2012 with AUM of
US$323 billion, surpassing US$300 billion for the first time.
• 90% and 88% of MFS’s retail fund assets ranked in the top half of their respective five- and ten-year Lipper categories at
December 31, 2012.
• MFS grew its Asia-sourced AUM to $33 billion from $22 billion in 2011, and was ranked in Asian Investor’s December 2012 Top
100 Managers issue.
• MFS launched its first global advertising campaign supporting its new brand positioning announced this year.
• MFS was named Equity Manager of the Year for Europe by Financial News for the second time in three years.
• SLGI completed its second full year of operations with sales reaching more than $2 billion, client managed AUM growing to over
$6 billion, and all twelve of the original long-term mutual funds ranking above the median and seven of twelve mutual funds
ranking in the top quartile for their respective two-year categories as measured by Morningstar Research.
• SLGI was named “Fastest Growing Institutional Money Manager”, debuted in the Top 40 Money Manager rankings issue as #33
and was ranked as the sixth largest Capital Accumulation Plan Asset Manager in 2012 in Benefits Canada magazine.
20 Sun Life Financial Inc. Annual Report 2012 Management’s Discussion and Analysis