International businesses enhance Great-West

Article Excerpt

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $33 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 986.1 million; Market cap: $32.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend Yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial (Toronto symbol MFC). It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management services. Power Financial (Toronto symbol PWF) owns 67.6% of Great-West. As of September 30, 2016, the company had $1.2 trillion of assets under administration; that’s up 1.3% from the start of the year. Geographic exposure cuts risk Great-West gets 43% of its earnings from Canada, where it operates under well-known brands Great-West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55. Its European operations (42% of earnings) mainly sell group insurance and annuity products in the U.K., Ireland and Germany. In the U.S. (15% of earnings), Great-West is a leading provider of employer-sponsored retirement savings plans. It also owns mutual fund firm Putnam Investments. Great-West’s revenue rose 2.3%, from $29.9 billion in…