Narrower focus helps both of these leaders

Article Excerpt

Insurer Great-West Lifeco and mutual funds provider IGM Financial continue to benefit from their recent moves to focus on their core businesses. We still like both, but prefer IGM for your new buying. GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $48 is a hold. The insurer (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; shares outstanding: 931.2 million; Market cap: $44.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest life insurer, after Manulife Financial. It also offers pension and wealth management services. Power Corp. (Toronto symbol POW) owns 68.1% of the firm. In April 2022, the company’s Empower business paid $4.35 billion for the full-service retirement business of U.S.-based Prudential Financial Inc. (New York symbol PRU). As well, in November 2023, the company paid IGM $575 million for Investment Planning Counsel, which provides wealth management and planning services. The company also sold its U.S.-based Putnam Investments mutual fund business to Franklin Resources, Inc. (New York symbol BEN), which operates as…