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News release Sun Life Sun Life Reports First Quarter 2021 Results Sun Life Financial Inc. ( " SLF Inc. " ) , its subsidiaries and , where applicable , its joint ventures and associates are collectively referred to as " the Company " , " Sun Life " , " we " , " our " , and " us " . We manage our operations and report our financial results in five business segments : Canada , United States ( " U.S. " ) , Asset Management , Asia , and Corporate . The information in this document is based on the unaudited interim financial results of SLF Inc. for the period ended March 31 , 2021 and should be read in conjunction with the interim management's discussion and analysis ( " MD & A " ) and our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes ( " Interim Consolidated Financial Statements " ) for the period ended March 31 , 2021 , prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ( " IFRS " ) , which are available on www.sunlife.com under Investors - Financial results and reports . Additional information relating to SLF Inc. is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov . Unless otherwise noted , all amounts are in Canadian dollars . TORONTO , ON - ( May 5 , 2021 ) - Sun Life Financial Inc. ( TSX : SLF ) ( NYSE : SLF ) today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31 , 2021 . First quarter reported net income was $ 937 million and underlying net income ( 1 ) was $ 850 million . " Sun Life had a strong first quarter with growth across each of our four Pillars , " said Dean Connor , CEO of Sun Life . " The pandemic continues to significantly impact the lives of people around the world . Sun Life's employees and advisors are going the extra mile to serve our Clients at a time when they need us the most . We continue to invest in future growth , and , after the quarter end , announced our agreement to acquire Pinnacle Care International , Inc. , a leading U.S. health care navigation and medical intelligence provider that will complement our stop - loss and health business . " " This quarter , we advanced our strategic priorities of sustainability and digital innovation . We announced new sustainability and climate change commitments including our intention to invest an additional $ 20 billion in sustainable investments over the next five years and to achieve carbon neutral business operations starting this year , " said Kevin Strain , President of Sun Life . " We enhanced the Client experience through investments in digital tools such as SunCanvas , a scalable virtual solution introduced in the Philippines and Indonesia , enabling a stronger virtual connection between advisors and Clients . We also continue to execute on our digital strategy , enabling more agile operations and bringing business and technology closer in the way we work . " Quarterly results Profitability Reported net income ( $ millions ) Q1'21 Q1'20 937 391 Underlying net income ( $ millions ) ( 1 ) 850 770 Reported EPS ( $ ) ( 2 ) 1.59 0.67 Underlying EPS ( $ ) ( 1 ) ( 2 ) 1.45 1.31 Reported return on equity ( " ROE " ) ( 1 ) 16.9 % 7.2 % Underlying ROE ( ¹ ) 15.3 % 14.2 % Growth Q1'21 Q1'20 Insurance sales ( $ millions ) ( ¹ ) 730 776 Wealth sales ( $ millions ) ( 1 ) ( 3 ) 65,962 59,904 Value of new business ( " VNB " ) ( $ millions ) ( 1 ) ( 4 ) 278 253 Assets under management ( " AUM " ) ( $ billions ) ( ¹ ) ( 3 ) 1,304 1,031 Financial Strength Q1'21 Q4'20 LICAT ratios ( at period end ) ( 5 ) Sun Life Financial Inc. Sun Life Assurance ( 6 ) Financial leverage ratio ( at period end ) ( 1 ) 141 % 147 % 124 % 127 % 22.7 % 23.5 % ( 1 ) Represents a non - IFRS financial measure . See the Non - IFRS Financial Measures section in this document and in our interim MD & A for the period ended March 31 , 2021 ( " Q1 2021 MD & A " ) . ( 2 ) All earnings per share ( " EPS " ) measures refer to fully diluted EPS , unless otherwise stated . ( 3 ) Effective January 1 , 2021 , the methodology for gross flows and outflows was updated for SLC Management . Prior period amounts have not been updated . For more details , see the Non - IFRS Financial Measures section in this document . ( 4 ) Effective January 1 , 2021 , reflects a change in the timing of recognition of U.S. VNB for group policies . We have updated prior period amounts to reflect this change . For more details , see the Non - IFRS Financial Measures section in this document . For further information on the Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test ( " LICAT " ) , see section E - Financial Strength in the Q1 2021 MD & A . ( 5 ) ( 6 ) Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada ( " Sun Life Assurance " ) is SLF Inc.'s principal operating life insurance subsidiary . EARNINGS NEWS RELEASE Sun Life Financial Inc. First Quarter 2021 1