Toronto, ON (May 1, 2001) – Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada announced today that it has signed a letter of intent to enter into a strategic partnership with Morningstar Research Inc. to provide Morningstar’s web-based and PC-based products to Sun Life Financial’s Canadian customer, plan sponsor, and advisor client base. Upon settlement of a final binding, agreement, it is expected that the partnership will commence June 1, 2001.
Morningstar’s web-based products include Quicktakes, Fund Finder, Fund Selector, Morningstar’s Institutional Data Analytics Service (“MIDAS”) for Group Plan Sponsors, and Portfolio X-Ray. Morningstar’s PC-based products include BellCharts, PALTrak, Personal Portfolio Monitor (“PPM”), and PALTrak for Pooled Funds.
Morningstar’s Stock Selector and Stock Quicktakes products will also be offered as they become available later this year.
Upon settlement of the final, binding agreement, Morningstar products will be launched over the coming months for Sun Life Financial’s Group Retirement Services Division, Sun Life Securities Inc. and Sun Life Financial Advisory Services Inc.
Sun Life Financial’s Group Retirement Services division will become the first Canadian provider of group retirement services to offer the following Morningstar web-based software products to plan sponsors and plan members:
MIDAS, Morningstar’s newly developed web-based product specifically designed for plan sponsors. MIDAS enables the plan sponsor to monitor the complete Group Retirement Services’ fund database, provides a convenient web-based platform in addition to superior data access and reporting, fund peer group analysis, and flexible comparison reporting. MIDAS will showcase Morningstar’s fund classification and rating system as well as the scope of complete portfolio holdings-based information. Plan sponsors can register to receive Morningstar “alerts” if certain fundamental changes take place in any fund.
Group plan members will have access to information on the funds available within their company-sponsored plan using Morningstar’s web-based technology.
Group plan members will be able to access a consolidated view of their complete investment portfolio, including funds available within their company-sponsored plan in combination with any mutual fund held externally. Through Portfolio X-Ray plan members will be able to obtain a detailed analysis which “looks through” their complete investment portfolio.
Clients of Sun Life Securities Inc. will have access to a complete suite of Morningstar products, including Portfolio X-Ray.
Morningstar will provide Sun Life Financial Advisory Services Inc. with a white-labelled version of morningstar.ca, supplemented by, and fully integrated with, Morningstar’s suite of advisor PC-based products.
“The proposed arrangement will demonstrate our strategic commitment to help Canadians achieve financial peace of mind,” said Marcel Gingras, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Operations. “Morningstar is an objective source of accurate and timely investment information. This relationship will enable us to partner with a leader in its field to provide consistent and authoritative investment information across our Canadian customer base.”
“We are fully committed to becoming Sun Life Financial’s preferred supplier of investment-information products and services in Canada,” said Scott Mackenzie, President and Chief Operating Officer, Morningstar Research Inc. “In particular, we welcome this opportunity to partner with Sun Life Financial to launch our new web-based products for the group retirement marketplace.”
About
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Tracing its roots back to 1871, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2001 the Sun Life Financial group of companies has total assets under management of CDN$316 billion.
Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSE), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol “SLC”, and on the London Stock Exchange under Ticker symbol “SFC”.
Toronto-based Morningstar Canada is a leading provider of mutual and pooled fund information. An independent firm, Morningstar Canada does not own, operate, or hold any interest in investment funds or stocks. Providing data on more than 3,800 mutual and pooled funds, the firm supplies financial organizations with custom data and commentary for their publications and on-line services. In addition, Morningstar Canada provides institutional and corporate clients with a range of customized products to meet their investment-information analysis, reporting and communications needs. Morningstar Canada is the choice of individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and the financial media, for objective and comprehensive investing information.
Tags: Morningstar DBRS, Sun Life
