Sun Life Financial acquires 51% stake in Advisors Asset Management for $214m

Sun Life Financial has wrapped up the previously announced $214 million acquisition of a 51% stake in American retail distribution firm Advisors Asset Management (AAM).

The Canadian financial services company announced the deal in September 2022.

Advisors Asset Management will now come under SLC Management, which is the institutional fixed income and alternatives asset manager of Sun Life Financial. The former will become the retail distribution arm of SLC Management in the US.

With 10 offices in nine US states, Advisors Asset Management caters to financial advisors at wirehouses, independent broker-dealers, and registered investment advisors with a variety of solutions and products.

Sun Life Financial acquires 51% stake in Advisors Asset Management for $214m. Photo courtesy of Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine / Wikimedia Commons.

It will have exclusive rights for marketing and promote the specified alternative investment products of SLC Management to the American retail market.

As of 31 December 2022, Advisors Asset Management oversees $40.5 billion in assets and has a team of over 270 professionals.

According to Sun Life Financial, due to the increasing demand among high-net-worth (HNW) retail investors for alternative assets in the US, the deal will enable SLC Management and its affiliated investment managers — BentallGreenOak, InfraRed Capital Partners, and Crescent Capital Group to offer their investment strategies to the American HNW market.

Besides, the deal is strategic for Advisors Asset Management as it will broaden its product roster to cover a variety of alternative products in commercial real estate, infrastructure, and private credit, said Sun Life Financial.