FAQs

A sales load fee* will be charged by SLAMCI as commission when you buy or sell shares or units. The rate will depend on your investment amount or holding period. There are two (2) types of subscription options:

1. Front-End Load – a minimal fee, depending on your investment amount, will be deducted upon initial or additional purchase of shares or units, allowing you to redeem your investment anytime without paying exit fees

2. Back-End Load – an exit fee, depending on your holding period, will be deducted upon redemption, allowing you to maximize your money by getting the most number of shares or units it can buy upon purchase

*Subject to 12% VAT and applies to all Sun Life Prosperity Funds except the Peso Starter (formerly Money Market) and Dollar Starter Funds. 

The following fees are also charged, but these are already imputed in the Funds’ daily price (Net Asset Value Per Share / Net Asset Value Per Unit)

• Management and Distribution Fees

• Transfer Agency Fees

• Custodianship Fees

• Fund Accounting Fees

• Other Fees

Here are the different ways you can add to your mutual fund investments:

- My Sun Life Client Portal and Mobile App

- Online, over-the-counter, or ATM* bank bills payment

- Auto-Invest

- Local bank deposit

- Sun Life Prosperity Card

- Sun Life Client Service Center – Cash Deposit Machine

- Sun Life Client Service Center over-the-counter payment

To know more about the payment channels, visit the mutual fund payment channels  page.

A list of Sun Life Client Service Centers can be found here.

*This option is available only to BDO clients

Mutual funds serve as alternatives to investing directly in the stock market. Compared to buying stocks directly, mutual funds require lower investment amounts while allowing you to achieve diversification. This means that for a small amount of money, you can buy into several companies and achieve variety for your portfolio. When buying stocks directly, a larger amount of capital may be required to achieve the same level of diversification.

Investing in mutual funds like the Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund also allows you to benefit from the expertise of fund managers who perform the stock selection for you.

Mutual funds offer several levels of investor protection: 

1. Mutual funds are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines.

2. Every mutual fund corporation has a Board of Directors to whom it reports and whose primary duty is to protect investors' interests. 

3. Mutual fund securities are held by reputable custodian banks and do not form part of the assets of the company managing the fund. The purpose of having custodians is to safekeep the documents that evidence ownership of the Funds' assets.

Sun Life is the only company in the Philippines offering a "family of funds". Unlike other mutual fund companies in the Philippines, Sun Life allows its investors to transfer their placements between the Sun Life Prosperity Funds as much as four times a calendar year, without being subjected to any charges or fees. This is because Sun Life believes that investors' needs change over time, and that they should not be penalized for shifting from one fund to another, if so dictated by their prevailing investment requirements. This is part of Sun Life's objective of becoming a total financial services company that is responsive to people's needs.

The decline of the local market, specifically the local stock exchange, is not exactly bad for mutual funds. In fact, this is the ideal time to buy stocks for mutual funds, when the prices are low. When the market improves and share prices go up, as they will, given time, the value of the equity securities will have risen along with them. Mutual funds are long-term investments, which should not be bought or sold based on short-term events.

Sun Life, through its subsidiaries worldwide, has been managing mutual funds for several decades. In fact, the oldest mutual funds in the United States and Canada are managed by members of the Sun Life group of companies. The Sun Life group of companies manage a combined total of CDN$388.7 billion of assets under administration as of September 30, 2008.

Locally, the investment management of our funds will be handled by our investment team in Manila. They presently manage assets in excess of Php 86 billion as of end-June 2007.

You will get your redemption proceeds in a few days (maximum of seven business days) from the time your redemption order was received by our head office in Manila. The value of the redemption proceeds that you will receive will be based on the Net Asset Value per Share (NAVPS) applicable on the day your transaction was processed.

Subsequent investments are not a requirement. However, should you wish to increase your investment in the funds, the minimum amount for subsequent investments is Php 1,000 for the peso funds and USD 200 for the dollar denominated funds. This applies to any of the two purchase options. 

We strongly advise our investors to regularly set aside a fixed amount of money for investments, regardless of the NAVPS. This way, you automatically buy more shares when the price is low, and fewer shares when the price is high. This kind of discipline is what we call Peso Cost Averaging.

Mutual funds are essentially long-term investments. You can get the maximum benefits from a mutual fund if you leave your money with the fund and let it grow. At the same time, the rate at which your money will grow cannot be predicted because when you invest in a mutual fund, you are investing in a diversified portfolio of securities that normally fluctuate in value. The securities markets in which mutual funds invest tend to rise and fall over the short-term, as will the value of your investment. Your ability to withstand short-term volatility will generally result in greater returns over the long-term.

To compute for the number of shares bought, we simply divide the investment amount by the Offering Price

Offering Price - is equivalent to the NAVPS plus applicable sales charge:

No. of Shares Bought = Amount of Investment / Offering Price

You may switch from one fund to another so you can take advantage of the growth of a particular fund. You may switch for free up to four (4) times within a policy year. If you exceed the limit, there will be a 1% charge on the amount to be switched.

The number of free fund switches and fund switching charge may change subject to the approval of the Insurance Commission.

The following are the requirements:

•VUL Request for Policy Change Form signed by the following:

- Policy Owner / Assignee

- Irrevocable Beneficiary/ies (if any)

- Witness

•Valid ID"

You may change the fund allocation of your policy. Fund allocation is the percentage of your premium (after deducting the premium charge) that will be allocated to buy units in each of the funds you have chosen. You may change your policy's fund allocation in two (2) ways:

•Change the percentages to be allocated in each of the funds you have chosen; and/or 

•Change the fund where you will buy units

You may change your fund allocation for free up to four (4) times within a policy year. You will be charged Php750 if you exceed the limit.

The number of times you can change your fund allocation for free and the fixed amount to be charged when you exceed the limit may change subject to the approval of the Insurance Commission.

The following are the requirements:

•VUL “Request for Policy Change Form" signed by the following:

- Policy Owner / Assignee

- Irrevocable Beneficiary/ies (if any)

- Witness

•Valid ID"

You can access your policy information conveniently through various Sun Link Systems:

Client Portal

Manage your account and access policy information by registering in the My Sun Life client portal. Learn how to register and download the Sun Life PH mobile app.

Client Care

•(632) 8849-9888

•Domestic Toll Free 1-800-10-SUNLIFE (7865433) using a PLDT Line

E-mail Address

•sunlink@sunlife.com

Website

•www.sunlife.com.ph

You may also visit any of our Client Service Centers. For your protection, we may require you to present two (2) original, government-issued, photo-bearing valid IDs (i.e. not expired), and/or answer questions to establish your identity.

Please submit any of the following:

• Back portion of the premium notice

• Letter of request with signature

• Address and Contact Information Change Request form

The forms required can be found here.

Alternatively, you may update your contact information through the My Sun Life Client Portal and Mobile app. Learn how to register to the My Sun Life Client Portal and download the Sun Life PH mobile app.

A VUL policy cannot be converted to a participating insurance policy.

You may place investments in the Sun Life Prosperity Funds under your name in trust for your child. Simply fill-out and indicate in the application form that the account is "in trust for" (ITF) the name of the child and accomplish a Confirmation of Trust agreement, available upon request from our Investor Services Department. Make sure that you provide a photocopy of your child's birth certificate when placing investments under an ITF account. However, please note that the investment will not automatically be placed under the name of the child, when he/she reaches the age of majority. A written request must come from you in order for the transfer to take effect.

The consent of an irrevocable beneficiary will always be required when you exercise certain rights and privileges as the Policy Owner such as availing of a policy advance, changing beneficiaries, surrendering/amending/assigning the policy and other changes. 

If your irrevocable beneficiary is a minor, he/she should be represented by his/her parents or court-appointed guardian following the provisions of Philippine laws.

Here are the different changes that may be applicable to a policy. Check your contract to know which ones are applicable to yours:

•Reduction/Increase in Coverage

•Correction of Birthdate/Sex

•Addition/Deletion of Riders

•Change from Smoker to Non-Smoker Rate

•Removal of extra rating due to Occupation/ Avocation/ Medical

•Change in Mode of Payment

•Change in Mailing Address

•Transfer of Ownership

•Assignment of Policy as Collateral

•Conversion of Term Plan to Participating Plan

•Fully Paid-Up/Reduced Paid-Up Life/Paid-up Term

•Change of Plan

•Change in Premium Payment Default Option

•Change in Fund Allocation /Switch in Fund Allocation

Note: Forms are available at our Client Service Centers and here.

Title changes refer to changes relating to names, titles, relationships, beneficiary/ies among others.

You may pay through any of the following:

• My Sun Life Client Portal and Mobile app

• Online and over-the-counter bank bills payment

• Paymaya

• Gcash

• Auto charge and auto debit arrangement

• Payment centers

• Local bank deposit (for initial payments only)

• Overseas banks

• Sun Life Client Service Center - Cash Deposit Machine

• Sun Life Client Service Center over-the-counter payment

• Overseas Sun Life Offices

Read more details about life insurance payment channels.

You may pay your premiums through any of the following channels:

•Wire transfer to any of our authorized collecting bank partners (please refer to the list of our collecting over-the-counter overseas banks).

•PNB Overseas Remittance Center

Applicable charges and bank fees will be for your account.

If you are unable to pay your premium within the grace period, your policy may lapse resulting in loss of benefits.

You may pay through any of the following:

• My Sun Life Client Portal and Mobile App

• Online and over-the-counter bank bills payment

• Smart Money

• Gcash

• Auto debit arrangement

• Payment centers

• Overseas banks

• Sun Life Client Service Center - Cash Deposit Machine

• Sun Life Client Service Center over-the-counter payment

• Overseas Sun Life Offices

Read more about pre-need payment channels.

A list of Sun Life Client Service Centers can be found here.

Payment for your life insurance policy or “premium“ must be made on or before the due date as shown in the policy contract. If you are not able to pay on your due date, you may still pay for your premium within the 31-day grace period to avoid lapsation. You will receive notices to remind you of your payment.

You may opt to receive your notices through our e-Notice facility. Simply register to My Sun Life Client Portal and click the e-Notice button for enrollment. Please note that printed copies will no longer be mailed once you sign up for the e-Notice.

You may pay through any of the following:

• My Sun Life Client Portal and Mobile app

• Online and over-the-counter bank bills payment

• Paymaya

• Gcash

• Auto charge and auto debit arrangement

• Payment centers

• Local bank deposit (for initial payments only)

• Overseas banks

• Sun Life Client Service Center - Cash Deposit Machine

• Sun Life Client Service Center over-the-counter payment

• Overseas Sun Life Offices

Read more details about life insurance payment channels.

Both Mutual Funds and Unit Investment Trust Funds are fundamentally similar in the sense that they are both pooled funds wherein a group of investors entrust the management of said fund to a fund manager. The fund manager must then manage the funds among certain asset classes usually indicated in the name of the fund such as stocks, bonds or balanced. Thus, the decision of the investor should ultimately be based on the skill and reputation of the fund manager. Similarly, funds are valued under similar accounting standards, such as those governing mark-to- market, and the funds are entrusted to third party custodians. Both Mutual Funds and UITFs are not guaranteed unlike time deposits.

Notwithstanding, there are still important differences. Mutual funds, which are regulated by the SEC are corporations, thus, investors in these funds are shareholders and entitled to all the rights given to shareholders (except preemptive rights) such as participating in stockholders meetings or electing directors. Clients of UITFÓ³, which are regulated by the BSP, are not shareholders and do not enjoy these rights.

Please make sure that all details indicated in your policy contract are correct. If there is any error, inform us immediately so we can correct your policy records.

For all transactions and inquiries, always be ready with your policy number.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We keep your financial and personal information confidential. Access to this information is restricted to authorized individuals who are responsible for the administration, processing and servicing of your contract(s) with us. These may include select employees, advisors, third party service providers, and reinsurers. 

Visit our website to know more about our Privacy Policy.

Investing in a mutual fund is similar to investing in a company. You receive shares/units of participation in a mutual fund in exchange for the cash you contribute. Each share/unit has a specific value, referred to as the Net Asset Value Per Share (NAVPS)/Net Asset Value Per Unit (NAVPU).

The NAVPS/NAVPU is calculated daily at the end of trading day. This considers the income or losses of the securities your fund is invested in, so the price may change from day to day. You can calculate the fund’s NAVPS/NAVPU by dividing total assets less total liabilities by the number of shares/units outstanding:

NAVPS/NAVPU = (Total Value of Fund Assets – Fund Liabilities) / Number of shares/units outstanding