SUN LIFE of Canada (Philippines), Inc. has established its trust unit called Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp. (SLIMTC), which will focus on targeting institutional investors, including state pension funds.

“We’ll be able to offer opportunities both for retail and institutional investors, recognizing different liquidity, risk appetites and investment constraints,” SLIMTC Chairman Sancho Constantino Y. Chan said at an online briefing.

“Moreover, we’re able to bring to bear our risk management and compliance frameworks to ensure that we not only meet our client’s investment goals, but also safeguard their money and provide comfort and assurance that we can manage through economic cycles,” Mr. Chan added.

SLIMTC President Michael Gerard D. Enriquez said prior to the newly established trust unit, Sun Life was already “dominant” in the retail market through their insurance and mutual fund businesses, with only limited institutional investors.

Mr. Enriquez said although “several institutions” have tapped them for fund management, they did not have the right platform prior to SLIMTC, which started operating on Monday. He said they will target the gap in the institutional space, including the likes of retirement and pension funds.

He said pension fund management is currently dominated by the country’s three largest banks, namely BDO Unibank, Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., and Bank of the Philippine Islands. He noted that opportunities in the market have been growing, not just in the private sector but also the state-owned Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). 

“These two institutions (SSS and GSIS) have been starting to diversify their asset base not only in the domestic market but also looking at offshore, and at the same time, opening up themselves as well to more sophisticated investments… So I think this is where SLIMTC can hopefully help them, in being able to partner and contribute to the needs of these pension funds,” Mr. Enriquez said.

SLIMTC is also looking to serve high net worth individuals once they have established their presence among institutional investors, he added.

“Clearly, there has been a lot of demand already for more sophisticated portfolios and strategies, especially from the high net worth. So there is a growing opportunity as well in that private bank and high net worth space, which we will be exploring to enter once we first establish our institutional clientele,” Mr. Enriquez said.

He said he is bullish that the Philippine market is already starting to recover from the volatility caused by the crisis last year.

“We are more confident and the sentiment has been turning more positive towards the recovery of the economy. I think there’s more positive optimism now in spite of this overhang of the Delta variant, which again, creates some short-term uncertainty,” he said.

SLIMTC will also complement Sun Life Asset Management Co., which is focused on mutual funds for retail investors.

“How SLIMTC can complement that is we will again move to target third-party institutional clients by offering investment solutions rather than marketing funds to these clients,” Mr. Enriquez added.

Sun Life Philippines Chief Executive Officer and Country Head Benedicto C. Sison said the establishment of SLIMTC is in line with Sun Life’s strategy to expand its asset management business in Asia.

“In the Philippines, where there’s still room for growth and evolution in the investment products category, there’s certainly an opportunity to expand the Filipinos’ choices when it comes to investment solutions,” Mr. Sison said.

SLIMTC is the country’s fifth stand-alone trust corporation registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, joining ATRAM Trust Corp., BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., Manulife Asset Management and Trust Corp., and Pru Life UK Asset Management and Trust Corp.

It is also the latest in Sun Life’s local business, which include life insurance under Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc., bancassurance under Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc., and asset management under SLAMC.

Sun Life posted the highest premium income worth P39.27 billion among life insurers in 2020, based on data released by the Insurance Commission in April. It also topped the sector in terms of net income with P8.47 billion last year, while its unit Sun Life Grepa (P674.22 million) ranked eighth. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

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