Sun Life Institutional Investments (Canada) Inc. Launches a New Fund Offering Focused on Short Term Private Fixed Income for Institutional Investors Seeking Alternative Yield

Sun Life Short Term Private Fixed Income Plus Fund adds to an innovative suite of private asset class solutions

TORONTO, Oct. 25, 2016 /CNW/ - Sun Life Institutional Investments (Canada) Inc. (SLIIC), a Sun Life Investment Management company, today announced the launch of a new fund offering in Canada focused on short term private fixed income for institutional investors. The Sun Life Short Term Private Fixed Income Plus Fund provides access to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada's proprietary capabilities in private fixed income and commercial mortgages.

"The persisting low rate environment has generated increased appetite for alternative yield," said Carl Bang, President, Sun Life Institutional Investments (Canada) Inc. "Our first capital raise of $550 million for the Sun Life Short Term Private Fixed Income Plus Fund resulted in excess demand of $350 million. Clearly the market is hungry for this solution, and we are eager to put money at work against opportunities we see in the market presently."

The fund was created with input from clients and designed to address near-term market need for higher yielding investment returns over more traditional asset classes. Higher yielding assets will be sought through Sun Life's market position and developed investment franchise in private fixed income and commercial mortgages. The private fixed income team is one of North America's largest, managing assets of more than $26 billion*. Similarly, the commercial mortgage team manages one of Canada's largest portfolios of commercial mortgages, with assets in excess of $15 billion*.

"Listening to our clients, we leveraged the in-house expertise of Sun Life's private fixed income and commercial mortgage teams to bring this specialized solution to the market. I am proud that this fund is the first and only of its kind available to institutional investors in Canada, that I am aware of," said Bang.

The fund seeks to achieve total return by providing income while preserving capital through investing primarily in a diverse portfolio of short term private and public fixed income and floating rate assets. The fund is benchmarked against the FTSE TMX Canada Short Term Corporate Bond Index.

SLIIC is proud to be partnering with some of the largest and most successful institutional investors across the country. The Sun Life Short Term Private Fixed Income Plus Fund rounds out a unique suite of private asset class solutions:

Sun Life Institutional Investments (Canada) Inc. is a Canadian portfolio manager, investment fund manager and exempt market dealer, and in Ontario, commodity trading manager, and is the manager of the Sun Life Short Term Private Fixed Income Plus Fund, Sun Life Private Fixed Income Plus Fund, the Sun Life Long Term Private Fixed Income Plus Fund and the Sun Life Canadian Commercial Mortgage Fund.

*As of June 30, 2016

About Sun Life Investment Management
The Sun Life Investment Management group of institutional investment management companies comprises Bentall Kennedy in North America, Prime Advisors, Inc. and Ryan Labs Asset Management Inc. in the United States, and Sun Life Institutional Investments (Canada) Inc. in Canada. These operations have combined third-party assets under management of $49 billion, as of June 30, 2016. Sun Life Investment Management is supported by the investment division of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada that manages $141 billion in assets under management for the Sun Life Financial group of companies as of June 30, 2016.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This is not intended to provide specific investment, tax, financial, legal or accounting advice and should not be relied upon in that manner. Under no circumstances is this to be construed as an invitation to make an investment in the Fund(s), nor does it constitute a public offering to sell units of the Fund(s). Subscriptions for units in the Fund(s) will only be considered under the terms of the Fund's offering memorandum, subscription agreement and limited partnership agreement and units will only be sold to qualified investors pursuant to applicable securities laws. Investors should read these documents and consult with their professional advisors before investing.

The information is current as of June 30, 2016. Efforts have been made to ensure that the information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of publication. However, Sun Life Institutional Investments (Canada) Inc. and/or its affiliates (collectively "Sun Life") do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Information is subject to change without notice and Sun Life accepts no responsibility for any losses arising from any use of or reliance on the information provided herein. In the event of any inconsistency between information in this release and information in the offering memorandum, subscription agreement, limited partnership agreement, audited financial statements and/or official client statements (collectively, "Fund legal documentation"), the information contained in such Fund legal documentation shall prevail. There is no guarantee that the Fund(s) will achieve its investment objective, its target returns or will be able to source the assets as stated.

Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Media Relations Contact:
Brandon Dorey
Manager
Corporate Communications
T. 416-204-8004
brandon.dorey@sunlife.com

SOURCE Sun Life Investment Management