Sun Life Investment Management adds leading North American real estate
investment capabilities to institutional investment platform
TORONTO, Sept. 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. ("Sun Life
Financial") (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) and Bentall Kennedy Group ("Bentall
Kennedy") announced today that Sun Life Financial has completed the
purchase of Bentall Kennedy, one of North America's largest real estate
investment advisors and providers of real estate services.
"Today, Sun Life Investment Management achieved a significant milestone,
adding the premier real estate investment expertise of Bentall Kennedy
to our high calibre real estate and commercial mortgage investment
capabilities," said Steve Peacher, President, Sun Life Investment
Management, and Chief Investment Officer, Sun Life Financial. "This
transaction continues to expand and diversify Sun Life Financial's
asset management pillar as part of our growth strategy, and further
extends and strengthens our offering to institutional investors seeking
alternative asset classes."
With over 100 years of history, Bentall Kennedy is a leading real estate
investment company serving a global base of institutional clients and
investors. Bentall Kennedy specializes in real estate investment
management and real estate services, including property management and
leasing. As of June 30, 2015, Bentall Kennedy had assets under
management of approximately $28 billion and provided real estate
services across 91 million square feet of properties.
"We are excited about the additional capabilities and resources that
Bentall Kennedy will have as a Sun Life Investment Management company
to further strengthen our North American real estate platform," said
Gary Whitelaw, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bentall Kennedy. "We
have seen overwhelmingly positive response to this next step in our
evolution from our clients, from our industry and from our employees.
We look forward to working together with our new Sun Life colleagues to
continue to deliver exceptional client service and consistently strong
results."
Bentall Kennedy continues to be managed by its current team, led by Gary
Whitelaw, who joins the Sun Life Investment Management leadership team,
reporting to Steve Peacher. Bentall Kennedy retains its brand and will
operate as a unit of Sun Life Investment Management, which provides
investment services to third parties and manages Sun Life Financial's
general account assets. The two firms will combine their real estate
and commercial mortgage investment management teams to have
approximately $48 billion in assets under management, serving over 550
institutional clients and investors in these asset classes.
Bentall Kennedy's management team unanimously supports the transaction
and is committed to continuing top-tier service and strong client
relationships. Bentall Kennedy's former institutional shareholders, the
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) and the
California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) will continue
as key clients of Bentall Kennedy under Sun Life Financial's ownership.
RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor and McCarthy Tétrault
LLP as legal advisor to Sun Life Financial Inc. Hodes Weill Securities,
LLC served as financial advisor, Alexander Capital as Canadian
sub-advisor, and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP as legal advisor
to Bentall Kennedy.
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including
the statement concerning bcIMC and CalPERS continuing as clients of
Bentall Kennedy, which is predictive in nature and depends upon or
refers to future events or conditions. Such forward-looking statements
are made pursuant to the "safe harbour provisions" of applicable
Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements in this
news release represent our current expectations regarding future events
and are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are not
a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties
and are based on key factors and assumptions are difficult to predict.
Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, we do not
undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements contained in this news release. Forward-looking statements
are presented to assist investors and others in understanding our
expected financial position and results of operations as at the date of
this news release, as well as our objectives for the transaction,
strategic priorities and business outlook following the transaction,
and in obtaining a better understanding of our anticipated operating
environment following the transaction. Readers are cautioned that such
forward-looking statements may not be appropriate for other purposes
and undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking
statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed
in or implied by the forward-looking statements in this news release
due to various risk factors. These risks all could have an impact on
the business relationships of Sun Life Financial and Bentall Kennedy
(including with future and prospective employees, customers,
distributors and partners) and could have a material adverse effect on
our current and future operations, financial conditions and prospects.
Additional information about risk factors can be found in the annual
information form of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year ended December
31, 2014 under the heading "Risk Factors" and other regulatory filings
filed or furnished to Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available
at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.
About Sun Life Financial
Celebrating 150 years in 2015, Sun Life Financial is a leading
international financial services organization providing a diverse range
of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and
corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have
operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the
United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia
and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2015, the Sun Life Financial group of
companies had total assets under management of $808 billion. For more
information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and
Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
About Sun Life Investment Management
Sun Life Investment Management is an institutional investment management
arm of Sun Life Financial. Sun Life Investment Management includes the
investment operations of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, Sun Life Investment Management Inc. in Canada, Ryan Labs Asset Management Inc. and Prime Advisors, Inc. in the United States, and Bentall Kennedy Group in North America. These Sun Life Investment Management operations have
combined third-party assets under management of over $50 billion, as of
June 30, 2015.
About Bentall Kennedy Group
Bentall Kennedy is one of North America's largest real estate investment advisors and
one of its foremost providers of real estate services. Bentall Kennedy
is a recognized global leader in Responsible Property Investing,
currently ranked first globally in its category in the Global Real
Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) study, the broadest measure of
governance quality and sustainability performance in the global real
estate industry. Bentall Kennedy is a member of UN Principles for
Responsible Investment (PRI) and has received the Energy Star Partner
of The Year—Sustained Excellence Award for the past 5 years.
The GRESB benchmark, based in the Netherlands, is committed to assessing
the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios around the
globe. They conduct an annual survey that measures the ESG performance
of listed and private property funds. The 2014 GRESB study included 637
participants covering 56,000 buildings with an aggregate value of
US$2.1 trillion. The published report cites the organization and/or
fund ranked first for each asset class; retail, industrial, office,
residential, healthcare and hotels, and a diversified category in each
of the following regions; North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and
New Zealand. Bentall Kennedy ranked as the top performer among the 157
companies globally in the Diversified category, including all its asset
classes. Bentall Kennedy was ranked as the top firm globally for the
Diversified property type in the 2014 GRESB study.
The Energy Star Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award is issued
by Energy Star and recognizes Bentall Kennedy's continuous commitment
to improve the energy performance of its real estate portfolio through
the use of Energy Star tools and resources. Energy Star is a U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program, which was
established in 1992. It promotes the adoption of energy efficient
products, practices and services.
Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars unless stated
otherwise.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.