Great-West Lifeco
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : GWO |
| Industry |
Wealth management Life and Health insurance |
| Founded | August 28, 1891 |
| Founder | Jeffry Hall Brock |
| Headquarters | Winnipeg, Canada |
|
Key people
|
Raymond McFeetors chair D. Allen Loneypres,ceo,chair William Lovatt cfo,exVP Bob Reynolds pres,ceo USA op William Acton pres,ceo Canada Life Capital Corp Arshil Jamal exVP CapMan |
| Products | annuities pension |
| Revenue |
C$10.529 bil Ytd June'13 26%
|
C$1,103 mil Ytd June'13 11% |
|
| AUM |
C$596 bil June'13
|
| Total assets |
C$264.158 bil June 30, 20137.7% |
|
Number of employees
|
19,000 (2008) |
| Divisions |
Great-West Life Assurance Great-West Life Annuity Putnam Investments Empower Retirement |
| Website | www |
Great-West Lifeco is an insurance centered financial holding company (corporation) that operates in North America (USA and Canada), Europe and Asia through 5 wholly owned, regionally focused subsidiaries. Many of the companies it has indirect control over are part of its largest subsidiary The Great-West Life Assurance Company; the others (Great West Life & Annuities Financial Inc and Putnam Investments, LLC) are managed by US based subsidiary Great-West Lifeco US Inc. Great-West Lifeco is indirectly controlled by Montreal billionaire Paul Desmarais through his stake in the Power Corporation of Canada (owned by the family since 1968) which owns 72% (down slightly from 74.6% in 2005) of Great-West Lifeco. In the first half of 2011 premium income made up 63.99% of total revenue up from 56.07% hoh. The hyphen in the company's name was originally a typesetter's error.
For the three months ended June 2013, 63% of revenue originated in Canada, 26% from the US, 10% from Europe. Group retirement products (Canadian sales up 49%) and 401k markets (US Great West Financial sales up 34%) remain key areas of growth for the company. Lower UK wealth management single premiums negatively affected growth. Boston-based Putnam Investments accounts for nearly a quarter of all assets under administration. Approximately half of company profit comes from Canada, a third from Europe and the rest of the United States. In the third quarter of 2010 British sales outpaced all other regions with 45% growth followed by the USA financial services business (up 41%). In 2q2011 earthquakes affected payout rates in Europe.
In 2009 100% owned subsidiary London Life ranked 14th among Canada's largest private companies.
The earliest roots of any of the companies under its management were set in 1847 Hamilton, Ontario by subsidiary Canada Life (then known as Canada Life Assurance Company); Current Canada Life parent The Great-West Life Assurance Company began in 1891 in Winnipeg. Its second oldest company London Life was founded in 1874 and taken over by Great-West in 1997, one year after it purchased the Canadian operations of the Prudential Insurance Company of America The original name of Canada Life included the word Assurance in place of insurance, something that was more common among British companies.
When created in 1890-1891, thirty-one of the 40 insurance companies in Canada were foreign-owned and none of the Canadian-based ones were managed from Western Canada. Great-West's founder started the company as an attempt to raise capital needed locally to develop farm land and retail businesses. Great-West's first president was Winnipeg mayor Alexander Macdonald who took on that role in 1892; the founder Jeffrey Hall Brock was managing director. Its first death claim was in 1893 for $1000, and in 1912 two Titanic policyholders were covered. In 1906 Great-West entered the American market starting in Fargo, North Dakota, followed by Michigan and Minnesota in 1920 and later Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, California, and Pennsylvania in the early 1940s. Within its first decade it successfully entered Eastern Canada, had market exposure in every Canadian province and became one the industry's leading companies in terms of growth and size; by 1896 it was present throughout Canada. Brock got sick and was forced to leave Great-West in 1912, three years before he died. He was succeeded as CEO by C.C. Ferguson in 1915. During the next twenty years the company's finances were negatively affected by World War I, the 1918 flu epidemic and the great depression but its market position remained strong; the stock market crash of 1929 and World War II had a positive impact on the company. The company was highly diversified, with investments spread amongst mortgages and government bonds. Great-West's early success in Western Canada was due in part to high insurance rates and a lack of financing available to farmers. In 1979, US and Canadian operations became separate due mostly to rapid US growth. In 1969 Great-West was purchased by Power Corporation, which made it into a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1982, Great-West began offering a universal life policy which differed from those offered by competitors. Two years later, in 1984, the Power Financial Corporation was created to be a holding company for Great-West and its numerous businesses.
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