May 31, 2023
The Investment Manager Research (IMR) team oversees the investment managers of Canada Life’s mutual and segregated funds. They monitor, evaluate and rate the funds and their investment managers. This helps to ensure the investment managers and funds on our platform are relevant and competitive, so you can feel confident you’re providing the right investment solutions to your clients.
Today, Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) announced that Franklin Resources, Inc., a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton, has entered into an agreement with Lifeco. Franklin Templeton is one of the world’s largest independent and diversified asset managers, with U.S.$1.4 trillion in assets under management. It operates in more than 30 countries and serves clients in more than 155 countries. This agreement spans two fronts:
- To acquire Putnam Investments (Putnam), with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Lifeco will hold a 4.9% interest in Franklin Templeton on a long-term basis and will retain its controlling interest in PanAgora, a leading quantitative asset manager.
- Establish a long-term strategic partnership between Lifeco, Power Corporation of Canada and Franklin Templeton, which furthers Lifeco’s approach of building and extending partnerships with best-in-class asset managers to support our clients’ retirement, group benefits and personal wealth management needs.
The IMR Team’s view
Putnam sub-advises several equity-oriented funds across Canada Life’s platforms, including U.S., global, international and emerging market equity strategies. Franklin Templeton has communicated an execution plan designed to minimize disruption to the investment teams and client relationships, which is consistent with their previous acquisitions (such as the acquisition of Legg Mason/Brandywine). The IMR Team will meet with Franklin Templeton and Putnam over the coming weeks to evaluate the acquisition details and any implications for our mandates following the close of the deal.
There will be no immediate changes to the impacted Canada Life funds’ investment strategies, investment policy statements, benchmarks, investment categories, risk ratings, or fees to clients based on this announcement.
The views expressed in this update are current as of May 31, 2023 and are subject to change without notice. This update is presented only as a general source of information and is not intended as a solicitation to buy or sell specific investments, nor is it intended to provide tax or legal advice.
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