Diversified Equity Fund - Changes

2024

In the second quarter of 2024 an allocation of 10% to Real Assets is being implemented for the Diversified Equity Fund.

The last changes to the fund were made in 2021 with a shift from investment in regional silos to a more global approach. In addition, the Board began monitoring for a possible future investment in Real Assets. Best practices in institutional asset management support adding Real Assets to further improve a portfolio. In line with this plan, the Board has approved a 5% (infrastructure) allocation to Brookfield Asset Management and a 5% (real estate) allocation to CBRE Investment Management. The fund management fee is anticipated to change from 0.52% to 0.55% once all changes to the underlying investment mandates have been fully implemented.

Real Assets, specifically Infrastructure and Real Estate, can offer additional diversification because of low correlation to other asset classes, lower volatility of returns, and inflation protection. They are also aligned with a long investment horizon. The risks of this asset class include elevated costs, idiosyncratic risk at the individual property level, illiquidity risk and political risk (changes in laws and regulations). The Board believes the benefits of the asset class are optimized and the risks are manageable within the fund-of-funds or portfolio approach, such as the Diversified Equity Fund. These changes are consistent with the positioning of the fund for future growth based on today’s capital markets.

See the complete details of the 2024 announcement of changes by visiting the Changes webpage.

Changes to this fund also impact the Balanced Growth (7%) and Balanced Income (3%) portfolios, as these portfolios invest in the Diversified Equity Fund.

These changes will apply to all members invested in the affected funds. You may wish to review your account for the appropriateness of your investment allocations. If you need assistance, contact Sun Life at 1-866-733-8612.

2021

Details on the changes made in 2021, including rationale, timing and portfolio before/after examples can be found in the PDF document Update on changes to Western’s Diversified Equity Fund - November 2021.

All investment options for the Western plans are detailed in the Morningstar Fund Sheets available within your Sun Life plan member account. Login from mysunlife.ca/western and select My Plan > Plan Overview > View Available Investments. Funds sheets are updated approximately three weeks following each quarter-end.

If you have questions about how you are invested, contact Sun Life Financial at 1-866-733-8612. You may contact Western Human Resources using ASK HR.

Published on  and maintained in Cascade CMS.