STOCKCHASE

Dividend is 7%, so not dead money. Stock market is now helping them out. Most conservative of the N.A insurance companies. Did not have to cut dividend in 2007/8 and wont have to now. Got out of US businesses that cost them money. Should have a massive earnings rebound after a write down they pre-announced. Will be about 8x earnings. Probably raising dividend again next year.

2012-02-08

DON'T BUY

20.890

(Market Call Minute.) Would prefer Manulife (MLF-T). A little bit of upside if you like higher rates in higher markets. If you want a safe insurance company, buy Great West (GWO-T).

2012-02-06

DON'T BUY

20.650

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

(Market Call Minute.) Would rather own something else such as Canadian banks.

2012-02-01

DON'T BUY

21.110

Michele Robitaille

Doesn't particularly like the life insurance sector right now. There are a number of challenges facing them. Difficult for them to be profitable in this low interest-rate environment. Expect volatility and downside risks. Preferreds would be better with less likelihood of a dividend cut. (Her funds have some preferreds.)

2012-01-25

HOLD

20.680

David Cockfield

Doesn’t think they are in the same territory as MLF, which has pulled it down. If you want to own a lifeco, this is probably one of the best. He did it through power corp.

2012-01-20

Comment

20.230

Paul Gardner, CFA

Yield is over 7%, which is probably sustainable but is getting close to a concern. It doesn't matter what life insurance company, you are just caught in a double jeopardy. Equity markets aren't cooperating but, more importantly, they're getting very hurt by the low interest rates.

2012-01-18

PARTIAL BUY

20.240

There is an expectation that they will be cutting the dividend, but he doesn't see that happening. One good sign is that we are seeing higher pricing on new insurance contracts. They are stepping away from the US where they were not making any money. This is all positive. Thinks is more upside than downside. You have to own a small portion but you have to be patient.

2012-01-16

Comment

20.050

Down substantially from 3 years ago. Lifecos have been in the worst possible circumstances with the market being down in assets that have to back their life insurance with as well as yields being very low. If you believe bond yields will be higher by the end of the year (he is), lifecos appear to be a fairly good place to be.

2012-01-13

BUY

20.120

Has it in his income portfolio because of the yield, which he thinks is safe at least for now. Insurance industry is going through turmoil, but longer term it is a good name. Doesn’t own the others.

2012-01-12

WAIT

19.500

Keith Richards

Beaten up group. Not as pretty looking as Canadian banks. Getting some hope of consolidation but don’t jump into it yet.

2012-01-03

DON'T BUY

19.500

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Yield of 7.6%. Insurance companies have had the double whammy of low interest rates and poor stock markets. Has been overly discounted. Market feels they are still going to cut their dividend. If you like the stock market, Manulife (MFC-T) has more leverage. He prefers Manulife. This one would be slightly more defensive.

2012-01-03

Comment

18.990

It is trying to make some sort of bottom. It either holds at the current price or goes to $16. Indicators are kind of low but sometimes indicators can waffle before they make a move up. Insurance companies need 2 things to happen. Interest rates to go up and a strong stock market.

2011-12-15

DON'T BUY

19.190

Problems with lifecos is that very low interest rates are really bad for their business. They can't really make any money. They put out variable annuities and can't reinvest very profitably. Regular insurance premiums have to go into the bond area which has very low interest rates.

2011-12-14

DON'T BUY

19.220

Michael Smedley

Very difficult to be positive on the lifecos. Scaling back part of their life operations in the US. One of the key problems with lifecos is to invest their premiums while they’re suffering in the stock market. This will continue for the time being.

2011-12-13

DON'T BUY

19.860

Management has stated that the dividend is safe “for now”. 7.5%. If the market gets worse and interest rates continue to go lower, anything can happen. Just announced they are going to change their US business. Wouldn't be a buyer of any insurance company right now until you get a good feeling that interest rates are going to rocket higher.

2011-12-12

DON'T BUY

18.280

John O'Connell, CFA

25-35 year long-term hold? With that good time frame, you can make a lot of long-term investment decisions. If you don't get carried away, you will do very well. They should not be paying their 7.8% current dividend as they are impairing their long-term earnings ability. He feels we are in a secular bear market, which means it doesn't make a lot of progress for the foreseeable future.

2011-12-08

TOP PICK

19.160

Preferred D 4.45% Series 4. Have been really beaten up. A perpetual so it is longer term. Trading under par. Has tremendous upside and is giving a very generous yield.

2011-12-07

WEAK BUY

18.710

Brian Acker, CA

You should have a little bit in your portfolio. To him, the balance sheet is in question and there are write-downs coming.

2011-12-02

SPECULATIVE BUY

18.460

Greg Newman

Lifecos have to go to the bond market to fund their liabilities and they still have a lot of equity exposure. Doesn't have a clear operational strategy as its competitors. Probably getting pummelled down on tax loss selling so would be worth a trade. Great dividend, which may very well get cut.

2011-11-30

DON'T BUY

17.990

Market is pricing in a 25% cut in dividend. It is not a MFC-T and does not have same balance sheet or hedging, so does not have to cut its dividend by a half. Problem with lifecos is that bond interest rates have come down tremendously. If he had to own a lifeco it would be GWO-T.

2011-11-29

DON'T BUY

18.320

Veronika Hirsch

Dividend yield is almost 8% now. In the short term, low interest rates and a really lousy equity market spells death to financials, especially insurance companies.

2011-11-25

DON'T BUY

18.420

Stan Wong

Hit a 52 week low today. Earnings expectations are declining on this and other insurance companies. Interest rates and low interest rate spreads are hurting insurers. Tough equity markets are persisting.

2011-11-24

DON'T BUY

19.560

Insurance companies are trading below BV now. Dividends look strong. Underlining businesses are doing fine. However, the insurance company model is broken. If interest rates go lower, then this is a bad area to be in.

2011-11-21

BUY

20.060

Very conservatively run. Doesn't expect the 7% dividend will be cut. If you don't think bond yields will go down further and in 5 years, bond yields and equity markets will both be higher his company's position will look better.

2011-11-18

DON'T BUY

20.710

Paul Gardner, CFA

Yield of about 7% and the market is kind of calling for a cut. He doesn't think they will. The environment is so bad for them because interest rates were not supposed to stay this low for so long.

2011-11-16

DON'T BUY

21.350

Richard Fogler

Insurance companies are contra cyclical to interest rates. When rates go down it is not good for them. Long rates are currently very low.

2011-11-14

Comment

22.010

Preferred shares. Loss on the 3rd quarter and a projected loss in the 4th also. Payout on preferred and common shares are safe.

2011-11-07

DON'T BUY

22.850

Rick Stuchberry

Yield of about 6.3%. The problem with the big lifecos is that they are really affected by market circumstances. He would rather own a bank, which are a bit safer on the short-term.

2011-11-03

DON'T BUY

24.000

John O'Connell, CFA

Some day it will be a right time to own this one. This company and Manulife (MFC-T) are struggling with the reality of low interest rates. If rates stay low, it will have to reserve more money again in the future. The stock is reflecting that the dividend is at risk.

2011-11-02

BUY

23.950

Likes the story. On of the few life insurance companies that did not have to cut dividend or raise capital during the financial crisis. Low interest rates are bad for legacy business they gave written. Some will unwind itself over the next few quarters. Dividend yield is rock solid at almost 6%. Largest foreign life insurance company in India. It is growing like gangbusters there.

2011-11-01

DON'T BUY

25.820

Brooke Thackray

Everyone has been beating up on life insurance recently. When the market moves up like this it is like a relief rally. He is not flavoring Life Cos at this point. Not a bad stock but not one he is flavoring.

2011-10-27

Comment

24.390

Can they maintain their dividends? The stronger lifecos, including this one, will probably be able to maintain their dividends. ManuLife (MFC-T) is probably in the weakest position because their US exposure is greater and such a large part of the company.

2011-10-24

DON'T BUY

23.850

Stan Wong

Tough equity markets and low interest rates are not good for insurers. From balance sheet, dividend is not unsafe at this point.

2011-10-19

SELL

24.070

Jason Donville

Just warned on its quarter so stock had a big drop. Feels the dividend is safe. This is a mediocre company and there are better ones out there. Doesn't see any growth.

2011-10-17

PAST TOP PICK

0.010

(A Top Pick Sept 17/10. Up 14%.)Preferred

2011-10-17

WAIT

25.500

Paul Gardner, CFA

Not a core position. Insurance side is incredibly difficult. This is better than MFC. Perfect storm of low interest rates and the equity market has really been side swiped. They’ve all done a good job of hedging. Done a good job of cost cutting and grown bottom line in this difficult environment. If we see a move up in interest rates and see stabilization in equity market we could see it get a double bang. But he prefers banks.

2011-10-11

DON'T BUY

25.820

Michele Robitaille

They have done some wealth management moves which are good,but is outweighed by the Insurance market itself. (equity,interest rate, regulatory sensitivity).

2011-10-06

Comment

25.820

How safe is the 5.5%+ dividend to see him through the turbulent times in the next couple of years? If this is the perspective and time horizon you have, that is fine. This company has no problem meeting their dividend requirements.

2011-10-06

Comment

25.500

Why is the P/E ratio much lower than Great West’s (GWO-T)? Great West has always been a premium company relative to others. Quality of management and earnings has led it to be a much better run company. All lifecos have fallen in half because bond rates are so low. Until you see rates going up, they are not going to be able to make the money they used to.

2011-09-02

DON'T BUY

25.500

Don Vialoux

Lifecos and banks have a seasonality of from October to December and February to May. This one is not doing what it is supposed to be doing. This one is not showing signs of support yet.

2011-09-02

BUY

26.540

Ross Healy

$23 is a good place to acquire it, but in a market sell off it could go lower. In a couple of years you will be fine.

2011-08-31

WEAK BUY

26.080

Almost 5% yield and is pretty safe. Longer-term, he is positive on interest companies. They need higher markets and higher interest rates.

2011-08-29

BUY

25.280

Thinks dividend is pretty safe. Lifecos are being discounted by the capital markets to a little more than they should. They have more capital appreciation in them than the banks but it may take longer for that to be realized. Can be owned safely in this environment.

2011-08-23

DON'T BUY

24.840

Chyanne Fickes

Both Manulife (MFC-T) and this company are very dependent on capital markets and markets, both Canadian and US, have not been very good in the last couple of months. Doesn't like the lifecos at all.

2011-08-22

BUY

25.350

John Zechner

Getting back to $30 is not a big deal. On earnings, which are growing, it's an easy call. Prefers lifecos to banks right now.

2011-08-19

DON'T BUY

25.850

Even though it is de-leveraging itself, interest rate and market factors will impact this company and Manufacturers Life (MFC-T). For the time being, he would stay on the sidelines. He would preferred the banks instead.

2011-08-18

HOLD

26.650

Jason Donville

It will continue to move up over long periods of time. Doesn’t see a lot amongst large cap financials to get excited about. Prefers more growthy mid-cap financials.

2011-08-17

TOP PICK

25.400

2nd quarter numbers indicate that things are improving. The bad thing for insurance companies is interest rates going down. Looks like they are fairly well-positioned in terms of what they're asset mix is. 4% dividend yield.

2011-08-05

PAST TOP PICK

0.010

(A Top Pick Sept 17/10. Up 4.45%.)Preferred

2011-08-04

TOP PICK

26.970

Expects that this quarter, being announced Aug 3 will not be a stellar quarter for them, valuation is compelling. Expecting return on equity in the 12-14% range. Earnings should recover over the next 2-3 years.

2011-07-26

PAST TOP PICK

29.380

5.68% Bond (Top Pick Jun 16/10, Up 8.71%) 2108 maturity callable in 2019. Tier 1 hybrid bond. You might have interest rate risk coming up in the next few years.

2011-07-05

Comment

29.050

Rick Stuchberry

Prefers Great West (GWO-T) with similar yields of about 5%. This one is more market sensitive. Doesn't think there is anything wrong with this one at this price.

2011-06-30

DON'T BUY

28.200

Canadian life insurance companies have had difficulty coming out of the recession because of the market’s sensitivity to equities and fixed incomes. Prefer banks over insurance companies, which have demonstrated their earnings are more sustainable and less volatile. ROEs are much higher.

2011-06-20

BUY

28.390

Charles Lannon

Feels the 5% dividend is sustainable. Have a decent but not a great franchise. Stock has been weak with long-term bond yields being compressed. Poised to do quite well when there is some normalcy in long-term interest rates.

2011-06-13

DON'T BUY

29.370

Estimates on earnings per share have it as sub growth relative to TSX earnings. Too many variables, such as the bond market and its impact on earnings.

2011-06-02

Comment

30.420

Laura Wallace

Cdn life companies have been disappointing. Prior to 2008 they were viewed as much less risky than the banks. The opposite ensued. They had another messy quarter. Life insurance accounting is very complicated. Good company and will continue to grow. Will take some to recover its ROE to the levels pre-2007. Decent yield.

2011-05-12

BUY

30.140

David Baskin

Insurance companies make a lot of money by reinvesting proceeds of their premiums until they have to pay them out. When interest rates are low they make less. Expects we will go into a period of higher interest rates, which gives insurance companies the opportunity to reinvest at a higher rate of return. If you are a dividend investor in for the long term, you should own some of both Sun Life and Manufacturers (MFC-T).

2011-05-05

Comment

30.240

Benj Gallander

Up 25% over the last year, which is pretty good for a stock. Has a lot more upside but he would be more interested in a stock like ManuLife (MFC-T) because there is more upside potential.

2011-04-25

HOLD

29.340

Environment for life companies is improving, particularly when he expects interest rates to go up. Pullback in equities has also been positive for them. Could see earnings rebound again in the $2 range in the next couple of years. Yield of almost 5%.

2011-04-19

PAST TOP PICK

30.640

(Top Pick Jan 24/11, Up 0.30%) Didn’t have to cut it’s dividend or raise equity - took advantage of financial collapse. Will be growing dividends over the next few years.

2011-03-25

WEAK BUY

31.210

Dividend is safe. Doesn’t expect it to go up much in the near future. He owns MFC

2011-03-21

WEAK BUY

30.260

Stan Wong

Sunlife has about 7% exposure to Asia. But it is quite oversold. You might see a bounce in the stock. Compared to banks, he doesn’t see a lot of growth from the banks. Insurance companies are more likely to grow. It ranks average in his models.

2011-03-17

DON'T BUY

31.090

Prakash Hariharan

The problem is that they need to hit at least 12-13% return on equity to get back into their glory days of growth. The regulatory overhang needs to be resolved.

2011-03-09

BUY

31.940

Insurance companies are selling at a significant discount to banks. Potential capital gain will potentially be more on the insurance side. If interest rates rise, this will be a good market for them. Have been addressing their US operational difficulties. MFS, their US holding is doing extremely well. Canadian business is holding up quite well. 4.5% yield.

2011-03-03

DON'T BUY

33.910

Prefers Manulife (MFC-T) and Great West (GWO-T). Great West is the more conservative and Manulife has better growth prospect, particularly in Asia. Would prefer a mix of these 2 over Sun.

2011-02-16

TOP PICK

31.190

Ran their business in a more prudent fashion and never had to issue more shares or dividends. Also expanded their presence in Asia during the financial crisis. Named Best Asset Manager of the Year in India. Chinese joint venture has become 4th largest in China. Yield of 4.7% with earnings of about $3 a share. Huge upside potential.

2011-01-24

HOLD

31.150

Ara Nalbandian

Trading just over book value, which is cheaper than the sector. Have a slower growth profile than others. There is a little bit of upside on the stock. He isn’t buying it. Prefers Power Corp.

2011-01-19

BUY

30.450

Brian Acker, CA

Model price of $34.40, a 13% positive differential. Wouldn’t have his entire portfolio in this.

2011-01-05

HOLD

30.120

Srikanth Iyer

Held up very well during the sub-prime crisis. Well positioned. Strong balance sheet. Expecting reasonable growth rates. Looking for a 6%-8% dividend growth over the next few years.

2010-12-30

WEAK BUY

30.690

All life companies have same challenge – seg fund business. If interest and equity markets go up, they go up.

2010-12-21

Comment

30.270

Has recovered nicely. If he were getting back into lifecos, he would add it to his existing companies.

2010-12-15

BUY

27.890

Cdn life companies have not done very well. Hopefully the worst is behind them. Not as exposed to the equity market as Manulife (MFC-T) but has a big asset management division in US. Trades around Book. With a 2 year time frame, it is a decent investment

2010-11-29

HOLD

28.570

Pays a higher dividend (5%) than Manu Life (MFC-T). In an environment where rates stay very low, insurance companies have a very hard time. Well run company and a great Canadian franchise but you need interest rates to start to tick up.

2010-11-25

PAST TOP PICK

28.860

(A Top Pick Oct 23/09. No change.) Has been buying assets in the UK. 5% yield. Still likes.

2010-10-29

DON'T BUY

26.780

Is affected by the MFC troubles and wont buck the trend until MFC comes out of it.

2010-10-12

Comment

26.470

Versus Manulife (MFC-T)? If equity markets improves, Manulife has the most to gain as they have the most leverage.

2010-09-27

TOP PICK

0.010

Preferred (SLF.PR.D) 4.45%. Current yield at about 5.64%. Next call is next December at $26. Doesn't think it will be called out but if they did you would have a 27% return from here.

2010-09-17

Comment

27.650

Seg Fund problems so if the market and interest rates go up, it’s good for them. Paying out about 110% of their earnings in dividends and there is some question if they can maintain that. Good core insurance and mutual fund business. 5.2% yield.

2010-09-09

SELL

25.010

Jason Donville

Market has concerns about future liability, debt portfolios and how they can meet future obligations in a very low interest rate environment. Wait for one good quarter before buying.

2010-08-30

SELL

24.160

Sandy McIntyre

Both MFC and SLF have exposure to an annuity product that was sold during the bull market. People are fixated on the hedging on this. He would not be standing there to catch these names. There are insurance names that are not in these products. Move into another insurance name.

2010-08-25

Comment

24.160

This is a bad, bad environment for insurance companies. Sensitivity to equity markets. With rates were they are and the new accounting rules it is difficult for insurance companies. Neither SLF nor MFC are going to disappear. It will take a while for the market to adjust to the new accounting rules. These insurers are slightly oversold.

2010-08-25

HOLD

25.150

Bill Carrigan

Thinks this is being punished because of Manulife (MFC-T). Doesn't think it is going to make a new low. 5.7% dividend.

2010-08-19

N/A

25.500

Benj Gallander

Doesn’t know their financial statements so can’t comment. He follows MFC as a contrarian. He likes a good dividend return.

2010-08-17

HOLD

25.480

Steven Conville

Loan loss provisions have come down and because of their structure, versus ManuLife (MFC-T) it has worked in their favour and they will be in a better position. If we stay in the low interest rate environment, visibility for any of the insurers is not good.

2010-08-13

BUY

27.350

The good news is that they have not suffered from the same problems as MFC. Prefers MFC because it has been beaten up so much but this one is a buy too.

2010-08-10

HOLD

27.250

David Cockfield

Suffering the same problem that Manulife (MFC-T) has underlined. Have low interest rates products that require bonds, by law, to be behind them and they are being squeezed. Good yield.

2010-08-06

Comment

28.600

Over a 2-3 year time frame, it is fine but doesn't know if there are any short-term catalysts. Have some equity and credit exposure where he expects some non-cash write-downs to show up in tonight's reporting. Looks cheap. Almost 5% yield. Earnings are close to Book Value.

2010-08-04

TOP PICK

28.810

4.45% Perpetual preferred. There’s more potential in the preferred than in the bonds. Chose over MFC because of the slightly higher yield.

2010-08-03

DON'T BUY

26.600

Steve Carlin

Hitting a 52-week low because everyone is worried about Q2 numbers coming up. Interest rates and the stock market don't help earnings prospects. At the end of the 1st quarter capital levels were acceptable but he is not 100% sure what earnings are going to look like given interest rates. This is in better shape than Manulife (MFC-T) right now.

2010-07-20

DON'T BUY

28.440

Life insurance companies in general have not been good performers lately. He would prefer Great West Life (GWO-T) but prefers this to ManuLife (MFC-T).

2010-07-09

TOP PICK

30.620

(A Top Pick March 29/10.) Trust II 5.863% maturing December 31/2108 and callable in 2019. Trading at 2% over Canada savings bonds. Good value. Still a buy. Yields is 5.43%.

2010-06-16

DON'T BUY

30.610

Would not buy. Thinks that even if they have fewer issues than MFC, he would prefer Power Financial to both.

2010-06-15

PAST TOP PICK

30.800

(Top Pick May 27/09, Up 16.90%)

2010-06-02

BUY

31.150

Canadian insurance has lagged. Have been hot by increased reserves. Dividend is save. Cash flow can more than cover it. Earning should start to improve with increased interest rates because of their bond portfolio.

2010-04-26

STRONG BUY

31.010

A great story here. About 4.5% yield. Trading at a discount to the banks so there are some good growth prospects. (See Top Picks.)

2010-04-22

HOLD

31.700

Lifecos lagged banks on the recent move. Feels dividend is safe. Probably 10% upside. This would be his least favourite of the Big 3. (See Top Picks.)

2010-04-19

BUY

32.570

John Zechner

US operations have struggled a little bit on the healthcare side. Valuation is attractive. He would tend to take a little bit more risk and go after Manulife (MFC-T) instead. Would take the Lifecos over the banks right now.

2010-04-12

TOP PICK

33.250

Trust II 5.863% maturing December 31/2108 and callable in 2019.

2010-03-29

BUY

32.720

Jim Houston

Lots of evidence they will do well in the US, where they have about 40% of their business. MFS business looks like it is turning around quite nicely and should be able to gain market share. 4.5% yield.

2010-03-25

BUY

32.720