A.M. Best Affirms the Ratings on Industrial Alliance and Its Subsidiary and Assigns a Positive Outlook.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR (Free System Resource) In Windows 3.x, the amount of unused memory in various 64K blocks reserved for managing current applications. Every open window takes some space in this area. See Windows memory limitation. ) of A (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition or Image Character Recognition) The machine recognition of hand-printed characters as well as machine printing that is difficult to recognize. ) of "a+" of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. (IA) (Quebec) [TSX TSX Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE before April, 2002) TSX Transfer from Stack Pointer to Index TSX True Space Extension :IAG IAG Insurance Australia Group IAG Information, Advice and Guidance IAG International Association of Geodesy IAG Interagency Agreement IAG International Association of Geomorphologists IAG International Association of Gerontology IAG International Audio Group ] and its subsidiary, Industrial-Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company (IAP (Internet Access Provider) See ISP. IAP - Internet Access Provider ) (Vancouver, British Columbia). A.M. Best has also affirmed the debt ratings of IA. The outlook for all ratings is being revised to positive from stable. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) The ratings of IA and IAP reflect their improved profitability and increased assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. and administration while maintaining a strong growth in capital. Much of this asset growth has been due to the acquisitions IA has made and their successful integration. In addition, the overall level of debt remains modest, while the coverage ratio has improved. With the acquisition of Clarington Corporation Inc. at the end of 2005, IA became a sizeable player in the investment fund market. At the end of 2006, IA managed $6.3 billion in mutual funds in the retail market and $6.0 billion in segregated funds, placing IA among the top 20 investment fund managers in Canada for the retail market and among the top 10 for the independent advisors channel. This diversification has enabled IA to increase assets under management, lower fixed costs fixed costs, n.pl the costs that do not change to meet fluctuations in enrollment or in use of services (e.g., salaries, rent, business license fees, and depreciation). , expand geographically and increase fee income. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the challenges IA faces in growing its insurance and asset management business in the competitive Canadian market while maintaining a strong risk-adjusted capital position. Despite its significant growth, IA still maintains a Quebec concentrated operating profile. The following debt ratings have been affirmed: Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.-- -- "bbb+" on CAD 125 million 4.60% non-cumulative perpetual preferred shares Preferred shares Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings and entitle them to be paid before common shareholders. See: Preferred stock. Series B -- "a-" on CAD 150 million 5.13% subordinated debentures, due 2019 Industrial Alliance Capital Trust -- -- "bbb+" on CAD 150 million trust securities Series A, due 2053 The following indicative ratings on securities available under shelf registration have been affirmed: Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.-- -- "a" on senior unsecured debt -- "a-" on subordinated debt -- "bbb+" on preferred shares Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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