Sagicor Financial Company (SFC) Scotiabank’s 27th Annual Financials Summit summary

Strategic initiatives and ROE targets

• Aiming to increase ROE from 13% to 15% by 2028, with internal targets suggesting potential for 16–19% through focused initiatives in Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean.

• Canadian business (ivari) expected to contribute 100–200 basis points to ROE by redeploying its conservatively managed $10B balance sheet, with a new SVP of investments hired to drive this.

• U.S. annuities business has grown from $2B to $7B in five years, with a recent ratings upgrade to A enabling access to new distribution channels, especially banks.

• Caribbean operations are being merged into a single entity, targeting 100–200 basis points of ROE improvement and $10–20M in annualized synergies.

• Each region’s initiatives have different timelines, with Caribbean synergies expected to show in Q4, Canadian asset redeployment taking longer, and U.S. margin expansion following leadership changes.

Volatility, capital allocation, and business model

• Accepts some quarterly earnings volatility due to life insurance accounting, focusing on long-term book value compounding.

• Current strategy prioritizes optimizing existing assets over shifting to capital-light or fee-based models, though this may be considered in the future.

• U.S. ratings upgrade opens access to bank distribution, expected to yield results starting next year as relationships are built.

• Production discipline in the U.S. favors higher ROE over volume, with distribution expansion seen as the main lever for growth beyond the current $1B annual production.

• Caribbean integration offers significant cost and process synergies, with internal targets for savings higher than public guidance.

Capital management and investor messaging

• Buyback program (NCIB) for up to 7% of shares outstanding is in place, with a disciplined approach based on ROE and valuation relative to book value.

• Over the past seven years, share count has been reduced by about 10% net of new issuance.

• Management sees the company as undervalued, attributing the discount to limited market awareness rather than fundamentals.

• Willingness to engage further with investors to clarify the value proposition and strategic direction.