Sun Life Financial and CI Investments introduce SunWise Essential Series for
investing, retirement and estate planning

A new financial solution that guarantees, protects and can grow your money

TORONTO, Sept. 16 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial and CI Investments today announced the launch of SunWise Essential Series, a new segregated fund solution designed to help Canadians achieve financial security through a guaranteed income for life and other powerful features.

SunWise Essential Series is available in three classes with different guarantees, allowing clients to customize a solution that effectively meets their individual needs for investing, and retirement and estate planning.

"Many Canadians are concerned about building their savings and achieving a secure retirement income," says Kevin Dougherty, President, Sun Life Financial Canada. "The SunWise Essential Series is designed to offer the growth potential of investment funds and guaranteed retirement income, combined with the benefits of an insurance contract, including estate planning advantages and potential creditor protection."

Clients can choose from three classes, depending on their goals: Income Class, Investment Class and Estate Class:

Income Class offers a guaranteed, sustainable income for life available at age 65 and other benefits that include:

• a 100% principal guarantee at death, reduced proportionately by withdrawals.
• a 5% bonus on the clients' guaranteed income for every year that they do not make a withdrawal of Income Class units. Following the first purchase of Income Class units, this bonus is available for 15 years, and can substantially increase their retirement income.
• automatic resets every three years that lock in investment gains and can increase the guarantees.
• age-tiered withdrawals: clients can receive a larger payout by starting their income payments at age 70 or later.
• a two-life income stream option: if one spouse dies, the surviving spouse continues to receive income, at the same payment amount, for the rest of their life.

"SunWise Essential Series Income Class is designed to provide a secure and predictable income in retirement," said Derek Green, President of CI Investments. "It ensures that Canadians won't outlive their money and can help them deal with the risks of inflation and market fluctuations before and throughout their retirement."

Investment Class is primarily for investors who are continuing to build their wealth and want to see their investments grow. Clients can maximize their exposure to the growth potential of the markets with 100% equity investments in their accounts. It provides a 75% principal guarantee at death, reduced proportionately by withdrawals.

Estate Class is for Canadians who are concerned primarily about preserving their assets for their heirs, including the minimization of estate settlement costs and delays. It provides a 100% principal guarantee at death, reduced proportionately by withdrawals.

SunWise Essential Series offers a choice of up to 74 funds, depending on the class, representing a broad assortment of mandates, investment approaches and portfolio managers. The lineup includes leading portfolio management teams from CI Investments, Dynamic Funds, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton Investments, TD Asset Management and RBC Global Asset Management.

These new policy offerings build on the experience and expertise of Sun Life Financial and CI Investments in providing segregated funds, with the two firms having more than $11 billion in segregated funds under management.

With the launch of SunWise Essential Series, SunWise Elite, including SunWise Elite Plus, will be closed to new investors after October 15, 2010. Existing Class B, Class C, Class B Guaranteed Withdrawal Benefit (GWB) and Class C (GWB) policyholders can continue to make deposits, with subsequent deposits subject to a $25,000 annual limit, which will take effect on November 1, 2010. All SunWise Elite and SunWise Elite Plus policyholders will continue to be entitled to the features and benefits, including all guarantees, outlined in their contract.

Further information on SunWise Essential Series is available at www.sunwiseessentialseries.com, or from your financial advisor. SunWise Essential Series policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and managed and administered by CI Investments. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2010, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $434 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

About CI Investments

CI Investments Inc. is one of Canada's largest investment management companies. CI offers a broad range of investment products and services, including an industry-leading selection of investment funds, and is on the Web at www.ci.com. CI is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX), an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management firm with $88.5 billion in fee-earning assets as of August 31, 2010.

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