MFS is about to embark on a hiring spree. The Boston-based fund firm's parent, Canadian insurance giant Sun Life Financial is allotting up to $50 million for an expansion in MFS's headcount, which currently stands at 1,700.

Rob Manning MFS CEO

Wednesday morning, MFS executives revealed plans to add staff in areas such as sales, dealer relations and relationship management, attributing the expansion to "strong net sales growth in 2009."

MFS' sales numbers will be announced on August 6 as part of Sun Life's earnings release, said MFS spokesman John Reilly.

The planned hiring binge comes eight months after MFS cut 90 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce of 1,800, in response to the market downturn, which hurt AUM. The layoffs affected a "very small number" of investment professionals and had "very little impact" on client-facing roles, Reilly told The MFWire in November.

MFS also plans to add equity research analysts in key and growing emerging markets, as well as quantitative analysis and tactical asset allocation specialists.

"MFS is a major contributor to the SLF group of companies, and has a bright future," said Kevin Dougherty, president of Sun Life Global Investments, in a news release Wednesday.

For his part, MFS CEO Rob Manning said: "We are exceptionally fortunate to have a parent company in Sun Life that has encouraged MFS to accelerate its growth through direct investment in our operations."

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Company Press Release

TORONTO, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. has announced a broad expansion of its MFS Investment Management unit's global investment and distribution platforms in response to significant growth of client interest in MFS' products and services. MFS has experienced strong net sales growth in 2009, reflecting the solid relative performance of its investment line-up along with its extensive global distribution capabilities.

As a result, MFS will be adding personnel in investment management throughout its global footprint. Areas the firm is targeting include new equity research analysts stationed in key and growing emerging markets, as well as specialists in quantitative analysis and tactical asset allocation.

Within distribution, MFS will be expanding in relationship management, dealer relations and sales to support the firm's expanding efforts in global retail and institutional distribution. "MFS is a major contributor to the SLF group of companies, and has a bright future," said Kevin Dougherty, President, Sun Life Global Investments. "MFS has built unique global research and distribution platforms that align the firm very strongly with clients. Its excellent historical investment performance is a result of its distinctive team-approach to managing money. We intend to build on these strengths, while allowing MFS to continue to prosper organically, through investment of up to US$50 million in the firm's infrastructure."

"We are exceptionally fortunate to have a parent company in Sun Life that has encouraged MFS to accelerate its growth through direct investment in our operations," added Robert Manning, CEO of MFS. "With their support, we have not only been able to expand our investment management capabilities, but also to continue to invest in our clients by expanding critical areas within distribution and client service."

Ninety-two per cent of all MFS' fund assets ranked in the top half of their respective Lipper categories based on three-year performance as of June 30, 2009. Performance in the U.S. equity and global/international equity categories also has been exceptional, with 93 per cent and 96 per cent of fund assets ranking in the top half of their respective three-year Lipper categories as of June 30, 2009. In addition, 94 per cent of the firm's institutional separate account composites beat their respective benchmarks over the same time frame.

Important Performance Ranking Information

The percentage of assets in the top half of the respective Lipper Category is based on performance of Class A shares at NAV and Class A Assets. For all MFS fund assets, 83 per cent (42 out of 65 funds), 95 per cent (45 out of 56 funds) and 89 per cent (38 out of 48 funds) ranked in the top half of their respective Lipper Categories for one-, five- and ten-year periods, ended June 30, 2009. For MFS U.S. equity fund assets, 86 per cent (14 out of 28 funds), 97 per cent (16 out of 21 funds) and 88 per cent (8 out of 14 funds) ranked in the top half of their respective Lipper Categories for one-, five- and ten-year periods, ended June 30, 2009. For MFS global/international equity fund assets, 76 per cent (7 out of 9 funds), 95 per cent (7 out of 8 funds) and 95 per cent (7 out of 8 funds) ranked in the top half of their respective Lipper Categories for one-, five- and ten-year periods, ended June 30, 2009.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Keep in mind, a high relative ranking does not always mean the funds achieved a positive return during the period.

Lipper rankings do not take into account sales charges and are based on historical total returns, which are not indicative of future results. Note that rankings are based on the performance of all share classes and sales load types as reported by Lipper. Rankings for other share classes may be higher or lower.

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 March 31, 2009, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of CDN$375 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 ticker symbol SLF.

About MFS Investment Management

MFS is a premier global money management firm with investment offices in Boston, London, Mexico City, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney. The firm's history dates back to March 21, 1924, and the establishment of the first "open-end" mutual fund. MFS manages approximately US$124 billion in assets on behalf of individual and institutional investors worldwide, as of March 31, 2009.

 

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