SUN LIFE of Canada (Philippines), Inc. remains bullish about the Philippine economy in 2017 despite persistent global uncertainties, with a growth estimate of 6.8%-7% driven by the government’s plans for aggressive infrastructure spending.
SUN LIFE of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (Sun Life) expects Philippine economy to grow at a modest 5.9% this year as it awaits the plans and programs of the incoming administration to further take shape.
MANILA, Philippines – Educational plans, health and life insurance are the priority of Mindanao residents according to a survey by Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. It noted that 42 percent of respondent said getting an educational plan stood as the most urgent concerns in the next couple of years, while 36 percent said they plan to purchase health insurance. Conducted in Davao and Cagayan de Oro with 200 respondents in the second half of 2013, the survey showed that more Mindanaoans aim to purchase products including educational plan, health insurance, life insurance, and pension plan. Twenty-eight percent is considering purchasing life insurance and 24 percent intend to get a pension plan. However, Sun Life said the intention does not necessarily ensure the respondents will actually push through with the purchase. The Mindanaoan’s budget is still allocated to food, house rental or mortgage, and education. But only one percent of the respondents stated that investments and insurance are included in their monthly budget allocation. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “What they could be missing is that it is with investments that they could grow their money and insurance is their means to protect it,” the survey indicated. While they will have to spend for both, the benefits may well be worth it. “In the long run, these could benefit them far better than entrusting all their money in a savings account – which, according to the survey, is how Mindanaoans define financial security (37 percent) as Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – COL Financial Group Inc. has partnered with two of the largest asset managers in the country, allowing the leading online stockbroker to broaden its lineup of financial products. The move will also help increase the customer base of the online brokerage firm as it offers unit investment trust funds (UITFs) and mutual funds, company officials said. In separate disclosures, COL Financial said it entered into agreement with the asset management arm of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (SLAMCI). COL Financial said it signed a memorandum of agreements with BPI-Asset Management and Trust Group “with respect to the participation of the company in certain funds of BPI for the benefit and account of the company’s clients.” “We will start offering in our online platform the fund of BPI, particularly UITF. This will expand the products we offer to clients,” COL Financial president and CEO Conrado Bate said in a phone interview. COL Financial will be a distributor of BPI’s UITF, an investment scheme that allow the pooling of investors’ funds to achieve a certain objective. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Managed by professional fund managers from a bank’s trust group, UITFs are invested in various financial instruments like money market securities, bonds and equities. “This puts us one step closer to allowing COL Financial clients to purchase funds online. This should benefit clients as it makes it easier to both buy and sell funds,” April Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (SLAMCI) is targeting an expansion in its assets under management (AUMs) by 20 to 30 percent to P40 billion next year, driven by more distribution channels and new products. SLAMCI president and chief executive officer Valerie Pama said the fund manager is looking at a 20 to 30 percent growth next year. SLAMCI is the fund manager of Sun Life Financial-Philippines. “That will be achieved through additional agents, looking for new distribution partners including banks and non-bank channels,” Pama said in a press briefing yesterday. Already in the pipeline is a peso-denominated balanced fund seeking approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It also expanded its partnerships with 10 bank institutions including Citi NA and the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), and is eyeing new relationships with non-bank financial institutions. SLAMCI will also be expanding its retail market base as it has already lowered its initial minimum placement to P5,000 from the original P10,000, and additional placements as low as P1,000. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We want to expand to a wider base and the regions,” Pama added. Recently, the fund manager launched SLAMCI MF Online, an Internet-based dealing facility, which allows clients and investors to perform mutual fund transaction such as adding, transferring and redeeming shares. As of end-November this year, SLAMCI’s total AUMs rose to a record P32 billion. SLAMCI manages seven mutual funds under the Sun Life Prosperity (SLP) family of funds, Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. has once again claimed the top spot in the local insurance industry based on premium income in 2012. In the official rankings released by the Insurance Commission on premium income, Sun Life capped 2012 with net premium income of P20.1 billion, up 44 percent from a year ago. The year-end result has again made Sun Life the country’s number one life insurance company. Sun Life topped the industry in 2011 with its net premium income of P13.9 billion. Sun Life also led the industry in new business, with P3.2 billion in weighted first year premiums, 36 percent higher than the previous year’s level. Combining these results with that of our joint venture company with the Yuchengco Group, Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc., which posted P5.8 billion in premiums in 2012, the Sun Life group in the Philippines made P26 billion in premium income, 86 percent more than 2011. In a statement, Sun Life Philippines president and CEO Riza Mantaring said: “2012 was again another stellar year for Sun Life. Not only did we break records in our life business, we posted robust gains in mutual funds where our balanced and equity funds were among the best performing funds in the industry. Assets under management of our mutual funds business stood at P28.7 billion as of year-end 2012.” The Sun Life chief attributed the company’s robust 2012 growth to new products, aggressive expansion programs, effective branding campaigns, intensive agency recruitment and heightened Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Canada-based insurance giant Sun Life Financial is optimistic it could double its income from its Asia Pacific operations to $250 million in 2015 from $129 million this year as it continues to expand in the region. In an interview on the sidelines of the 14th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress (APLIC), Sun Life Financial Asia president Kevin Strain said the earnings assumption would be supported by the projected double-digit growth in sales in the region over the next three years. Sun Life’s interests in Asia include the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India and China. This year, Strain said they would expand operations in Malaysia and Vietnam. “We are now in seven countries in Asia. We added Vietnam and Malaysia. We are now in four ASEAN countries – Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. We have great expectations. The ASEAN region has been growing so quickly, growing middle class, growing GDP. We think, there’s an incredible opportunity to get real growth in our business in Asia, in particular in our ASEAN business,” he said. Strain said among its businesses in ASEAN, the Philippines has the strongest potential for growth. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We are most proud of our business here in the Philippines. It is such a strong business. It has a great brand position. We have number one position in terms of insurance sales, number two for mutual funds, and a really great leadership platform to show to the rest of our Read More …