Insurers and Mutual Funds – Empire Life Joins the Fray – Blog

Empire Life is ringing in the New Year by introducing its own suite of mutual funds. The company is a player in the segregated fund segment with $4.3 billion assets under management (November 2011). Other insurers with mutual fund arms include Manulife, Transamerica, IA Clarington, Standard Life and a recent entrant, Sun Life (October 2010). The growing focus on the mutual fund segment by Canadian insurers reflects two key factors: The companies’ desire to add to their presence in the wealth management arena, and the need to reduce the dependence on the increasingly capital-intensive traditional insurance business lines (on-balance sheet products, such as segregated funds or life insurance). The Empire Life line-up includes five portfolios under the Emblem banner and five stand-alone funds. All funds are managed by Empire Life Investments and focus on Canadian investments. For more information on news and developments concerning Canadian investment fund industry, please see the latest issue ofInsight Advisory Service at http://investoreconomics.com/issue/insight-advisory-service. Posted by Bonnie Ho bonnie@iei.ca.