Sun Life Financial Inc (SLF.TO)

Has a decent amount of business that is impacted by 1% interest rates, so you are getting squeezed. Has a wealth management business in the US which is doing okay. This has been the best performer in the last couple of years of the lifecos. If you think rates are going to go higher over the next 2-3 years, Manulife (MFC-T) will be the better one.

A well-run company, but has sold off dramatically. It has come back quite smartly, possibly because of the shutting down of the real estate holding fund in London. Dividend yield of 3.95%.

Likes this. Dividend yield of about 3.67%. Compared to some of the other Canadian insurance companies, it has a very balanced mix. Has a very stable business in North America, but also has exposure to emerging markets. They have the wealth management side as well as the traditional life insurance.

(Market Call Minute.) If you have to have a Lifeco, Manu Life (MLF-T) has been beaten up more and has more of its revenue coming from Asia.

Feels the insurance sector is underappreciated and there is room for potential upside, especially relative to the banks. A solid hold for the long-term, but you have to decide whether you want to be in the insurance space or the banking space. He would be more motivated by insurance.

Sun Life or Canadian banks? He likes this on a valuation basis. The PE is similar to the banks. Free cash flow to EBITDA is something like 18%. This will be affected by interest rates more so than the banks.

Large Canadian financial life insurance company with global operations, mostly in Canada and the US. The problem has been the yield curve, which needs to steepen, which is when all financials will do well. He owns Manulife (MFC-T) instead.

This is seen as having a lot of exposure to wealth management. Anything with a touch point to wealth management going through end of December-January, early February was going to have difficulty in a weak market over macro concerns. This company is doing a good job in building their business. Money is now rotating back into equities. If your view is constructive on markets, your view on this company should be there as well. This is probably okay going forward.

She owns MFC-T. Outflows from their funds are a headwind. Lifecos are all attractively priced here. She prefers MFC-T because of their 30% Asian exposure.

This is an insurance company that he likes. The multiple and yield are okay. Likes the way they are doing business. A good solid business. Their wealth business is doing quite well.

(Top Pick Jan 16/15, Up 12.79%) People were playing it as a rising interest rate trade, but interest rates did not go up. He plays it on the aging demographic and turning lump sums into monthly income. This is his preferred pick.

Sun Life (SLF-T) or Manulife (MFC-T)? A hard choice. He owns Power Financial (POW-T) which owns Great West Life (GWO-T), because he likes the additional assets they have. There is a bit of a feeling that insurers may be a better deal than banks with the banks having to shore up their loan loss provisions. Would probably rank this as a tie between the 2.

Has stayed away from a lot of the insurance companies as he thinks dividend yields are going to remain relatively low, and they don’t make as much money. Not expensive and pays a very good dividend at about 4.2%. Trading a little bit above BV and not at a high PE multiple either. Great company, but feels you could put your money in other places.

Feels this has a little bit less risk than Manulife (MFC-T). Both are very good businesses and both have gone down in the same direction. Risks that investors have expressed about both companies and Canadian Banks pertains to not just interest rates but also to the wealth management businesses they have.

Likes the lifecos. This has close to a 4% yield. The one thing that has held them back is their MSF, their large American asset manager that has had some net outflows lately. Recently had a dividend increase, and would expect they could have more over the next few years. If we get into an environment where interest rates start to gradually go up, that is generally good for the lifecos. This has big exposure in India.