Sun Life Financial Inc.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Lateef, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Sun Life Financial Q1 2022 Financial Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. The host of this call is Yaniv Bitton, Vice President, Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets. Please go ahead, Mr. Vitson.

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sun Life's earnings call for the first quarter of 2022. Our earnings release and the slides for today's call are available on the investor relations section of our website at sunlife.com. We will begin today's call with an overview of our first quarter strategic highlights from Kevin Strain, President and Chief Executive Officer. Following Kevin's remarks, Manjit Singh, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will present the financial results for the quarter. After the prepared remarks, we will move to the question and answer portion of the call. Other members of management will also be available to answer your questions this morning. Turning to slide two, I draw your attention to the cautionary language regarding the use of forward-looking statements and non-IFRS financial measures which form part of today's remarks. As noted in the slides, forward-looking statements may be rendered inaccurate by subsequent events. And with that, I'll now turn things over to Kevin. Thanks, Yaniv, and good morning to everybody on the call today.

Turning to slide four, Sun Life delivered a solid start to 2022, driven by our diversified business model, prudent risk management practices, and strong capital position. Reported net income of $858 million was down 8% from prior year, and underlying net income of $843 million was broadly in line with last year. COVID-19 continued to impact our businesses, and while headwinds from COVID remain, As of March, we started to see an improvement in U.S. COVID-related deaths, which should drive more favorable mortality experience in the second quarter. We continue to watch the trends closely, and in most of our markets, we are seeing a transition as COVID becomes less of an impact and populations have increased immunity. This doesn't mean COVID is over, but it does suggest smaller impacts in terms of claims and business interruption going forward. We are also pleased that in most of our markets, our offices are now open and and we have people working flexibly, both in the office and virtually, as their day allows. With the war in Ukraine impacting economic conditions, supply chains, and energy costs, the world is now facing new challenges with heightened geopolitical pressures and central banks raising rates to curb higher-than-expected inflation. These challenges create uncertainty, but our diversified business mix and strong risk management will enable us to manage through these headwinds. We're expecting pressure on equity markets, credit, and expenses due to inflation, but higher interest rates, particularly at the long end of the curve, should help drive profitability. And the ongoing growth in our businesses also supports our medium-term objectives. Our capital position remains strong, with a LICAT ratio of 143% at SLF. We are also pleased to announce a 4.5% increase to our common share dividend, demonstrating our commitment to deliver value for our shareholders. Turning to slide five, We continue to deliver on our purpose and our ambition in the quarter as we saw continued progress in delivering on our client impact strategy. Sustainability is a key component of our strategy, and in March we released our annual sustainability report, which outlines the areas where Sun Life can have the greatest impact, including increasing financial security, fostering healthier lives, and advancing sustainable investing. The report outlines how being sustainability-driven is core to Sun Life's strategy and and how we're making an impact on sustainability for our clients, our employees and advisors, our communities and future generations. In Hong Kong, we announced Stellar, the first ESG savings plan in the market that actively integrates ESG concepts into its investment strategies. This enables clients to build their wealth in a way that has a positive impact while also ensuring a legacy for future generations. Stellar allocates funds to sustainable investments, such as renewable energy, sustainable buildings, energy transition, and water and waste management, with a particular focus on assets with relatively low carbon intensity. This is a great example of bringing a sustainable solution to market by leveraging the strength of SLC management and our affiliate companies, Infrared Capital Partners and Bentzel Green Oak, as well as our local investments team in Hong Kong. Moving to distribution excellence, Last month, we announced the expansion of our partnership with CIMB Niagara in Indonesia. CIMB is an important regional partner for us in Asia. In fact, CIMB Niagara was one of our first ever bank insurance partners. Under the new agreement, Sun Life will be the provider of insurance solutions to CIMB Niagara customers through all channels starting in 2025. We're excited about expanding our relationship with CIMB in Indonesia. Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia with a young emerging middle class, one of the world's largest working age populations, and low insurance penetration. Turning to asset management, we continue to see strong momentum at SOC management, where in the first quarter we raised $5.7 billion of capital, reflecting the strength and diversification of our alternative investment capabilities. Sun Life was also recognized for its inclusive culture last month, when it was named one of the 2022 Best Workplaces in Canada by Great Place to Work. I'm proud of this achievement, and I want to thank our employees for making this possible. We're also excited that starting next season, Sun Life will be the official health and wellness partner of the Toronto Raptors basketball team. As part of this expanded partnership, our goal together is to find new opportunities to help Canadians live healthier lives. Slide five and six also provide updates on how we continue to drive digital leadership across the organization. In Canada, we launched Prosper by Sun Life, delivering a simple and intuitive client experience. Prosper by Sun Life is a first-of-its-kind hybrid advice solution that provides all Canadians a digital tool to identify, track, and reach their protection, wealth, and health goals all in one place. Prosper is linked to a team of salary advisors who can provide recommendations and product solutions to our clients at moments that matter. In the U.S., we introduced Benefits Explorer. We know benefit selection can be stressful and confusing for some members, so this tool helps educate and prepare employees for benefits enrollment. The tool provides access to live benefits counselors and direct links to their employer's online enrollment and offers employees a guided path to learn about their benefits through the year so they can choose the right benefits package for their needs. And in Asia, our predictive modeling tool, Next Best Offer, helps our advisors recommend the right products at the right moments to our clients. We've seen terrific results with over 70% product take-up from the clients we were able to engage with through this tool. These are just a few examples of how Sun Life's digital leadership is delivered on our client impact strategy while also generating business growth. I also want to provide a quick update on our agreement to acquire DentaQuest. We've made good progress obtaining necessary approvals and remain on track for a close in the first half of the year. We're looking forward to DentaQuest becoming part of the Sun Life family and welcoming their employees and 33 million members to Sun Life. Before I hand the call over to Manjit, I want to say our hearts and thoughts remain with the people of Ukraine and everyone affected by this senseless invasion and war. Together with the global community, we're concerned about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country and surrounding regions and the threats to global peace and security. Sunlight, its companies, and affiliates, including Dental, Green Oak, and Infrared Partners, along with our employees, have donated more than $1.1 million to various charities that are providing direct humanitarian support in Ukraine. We also know that people are struggling with mental health concerns, which have been exasperated by both the ongoing pandemic as well as concerns related to world security and peace. As a result, in partnership with Dialogue, we are currently providing free access to self-guided online therapy to anyone in Canada struggling with mental health issues. All of this continues to drive home how important our purpose is, and I can't remember a time when helping people achieve lifetime financial security, and live healthier lives has been more important. And our mix of asset management insurance businesses are well positioned to deliver on this purpose, but also to manage through these economic headwinds. With that, Manjit will now take us through the financial results for the first quarter.