The high net worth insurance arm of Canadian insurer Sun Life has hired executives from Swiss Re, FWD and Transamerica. The group launched an integrated platform in late July.

Sun Life Private Wealth has appointed Liem Phan (pictured below) as chief product officer, Alvin Soh (pictured below) as chief executive officer of its Singapore business and Georgina Howes (pictured below) as chief executive officer and country manager in Bermuda.

Liem Phan

Phan, based in Singapore, will run product strategy across the business, covering design, pricing, lifecycle management and governance. He is joining from Swiss Re, where he led the reinsurer’s Southeast Asia and India business. He joined Swiss Re in 2005 and served in senior roles in Singapore and Switzerland. He is a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Alvin Soh

Soh was chief distribution and marketing officer at FWD Singapore, responsible for distribution, product and marketing across its life and general insurance businesses. He will focus on distribution partner relationships and coordination with the underwriting, operations, compliance and risk functions. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Georgina Howes

Howes was head of Bermuda at Transamerica Life (Bermuda), where she set up and expanded its high net worth operations. Her background is in life and health underwriting and operations.

Sun Life launched Sun Life Private Wealth on 28 July. The business brings together high net worth operations that date back to 1996, when Sun Life set up dedicated operations in Bermuda, which now span Bermuda, Hong Kong and Singapore. It has also established a presence in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) after it was authorised by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Sujoy Ghosh is chief executive officer. 

Over the 18 months before the launch, the firm moved its markets onto a single intake and underwriting platform with harmonised processes and forms. Sun Life reported group AuM of C$1.70 trillion ($1.19 trillion) at 30 June 2026. 

Insurers are competing for cross-border wealth in Asia. Figures cited at the launch put global high net worth wealth up 8.7 per cent to $98.3 trillion in 2025, with Asia-Pacific showing the fastest regional growth at 10.5 per cent. AXA has also recently launched its own wealth management platform.