Changes to SSQ Insurance fund offering - Impacts on Segregated Funds and Universal Life Products

Hexavest Fund Closures - Impacts on Segregated Funds and Universal Life Products

Segregated Funds: Hexavest Fund Closures and transfer of assets

On December 14, 2020, the SSQ GIFs below will be closed and their assets will be transferred to the destination SSQ GIF indicated in the table below.

Code	SSQ GIF Closures	Code	Destination SSQ GIF
033	SSQ Hexavest International Equity GIF	097	SSQ C WorldWide International Equity GIF
121	SSQ Hexavest Hedged Global Equity GIF*	164	SSQ Fiera Capital Global Equity GIF
143	SSQ Hexavest All-Country Global Equity GIF**	164	SSQ Fiera Capital Global Equity GIF

* If your clients hold units in the Premium Option Guarantee, it is considered a fundamental change. For all other guarantees, this is not a fundamental change.
** Fundamental change

Fundamental changes

The SSQ Hexavest All-Country Global Equity GIF (143) will be closed and the funds assets will be transferred in the SSQ Fiera Capital Global Equity GIF. This is a fundamental change, since the management expense ratio increases following the transfer. An investor holding units of funds in this family may withdraw all or part of their units, depending on the market value. No fees, including the deferred sales charge, will be charged.

The SSQ Hexavest Hedged Global Equity GIF (121) will be closed and transferred to the SSQ Fiera Capital Global Equity GIF. For the investors holding units in the Premium Option guarantee only, this is a fundamental change, since the management expense ratio increases following the transfer. The investment objectives remain similar. An investor holding units of funds in this guarantee may withdraw all or part of their units, depending on the market value. No fees, including the deferred sales charge, will be charged.

A notice will be mailed to all investors affected by these closures in the week of October 12, 2020. Notices will be available for consultation on our secure advisor website in the Documentation section.

To consult the list of clients who invested in the funds about to be closed, please use the tool available on our secure website. After you've logged in, click "Managing your clients" in the left-hand menu and generate client lists depending on your choice of criteria.

Impacts on the SSQ Equity GIAs

As of December 14, 2020, the following funds will be available in the SSQ Equity GIA product:

097: SSQ C WorldWide International Equity GIF
164: SSQ Fiera Capital Global Equity GIF

For more information about these changes, click here.

Withdrawal of Hexavest from the SSQ Strategy and Celestia GIF Portfolios

As a reminder, on June 29, 2020 we made the decision to withdraw the fund manager Hexavest from our Strategy and Celestia portfolio funds in order to offer you the best possible investment strategy.

As a result, the global equity strategies that were managed by Hexavest were transferred to SSQ Fiera Capital’s Global Equity strategy GIF.

Impact on Universal Life Products

Withdrawal of Hexavest All-Country Global Equity account

As of December 14, 2020, the Hexavest All-Country Global Equity account will be closed and assets will be transferred to the Fiera Capital Global Equity account.
In the week of November 2, a letter will be sent to the clients who hold a balance in the account that will be closed, in order to inform them of their options.

Withdrawal of Hexavest from the SSQ Strategy GIF portfolio

In June 2020, Hexavest's withdrawal from our Strategy Portfolio Funds also had an impact on Strategy Portfolio managed accounts on our Universal Life products.

As a result, the Global equity strategies managed by Hexavest were transferred to the Fiera Capital’s Global Equity strategy.

Please note that all of the fund managers in our family of segregated funds are subject to a rigorous monitoring program by our investment team.

All details about the funds closures will follow in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Changes to SSQ Insurance fund offering - Impacts on Segregated Funds and Universal Life Products - December 2020