Great-West Lifeco
Canadian financial-services holding company focused on insurance, retirement, wealth management, and investment services.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Great-West Lifeco Inc. is a Canadian financial-services holding company whose businesses are organized around life and health insurance, retirement and workplace benefits, annuities, wealth management, and investment management. The group operates through regionally focused subsidiaries and brands in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Its principal businesses have included Canada Life, Great-West Life, London Life, Irish Life, Empower, and Putnam Investments, although ownership and branding have changed as the group has consolidated operations and divested selected assets. The company traces its origins to The Great-West Life Assurance Company, founded in Winnipeg in 1891 by local insurance agent Jeffry Hall Brock. Brock established the insurer partly to provide locally controlled capital and insurance capacity for Western Canadian farmers, merchants, and businesses at a time when many Canadian insurers were foreign-owned or managed from eastern financial centres. Great-West expanded nationally during its first decade, entering the United States in 1906 and later developing a substantial American retirement and insurance presence. Power Corporation of Canada acquired Great-West in 1969, creating the ownership relationship that continues to define the group. Great-West Lifeco was subsequently used as the listed holding-company structure for a portfolio of insurance and financial-services businesses. Major expansion followed through the acquisition of London Life in 1997, Canada Life Financial in 2003, U.S. retirement-plan assets, Putnam Investments in 2007, and Irish Life in 2013. These transactions broadened the group from a Canadian life insurer into a multinational provider of insurance, pensions, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and asset management. The group has also reshaped its portfolio. In 2008, Great-West's U.S. healthcare business was sold to Cigna. In 2019, the Canadian government approved the consolidation of Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life Assurance Company, and the combined Canadian operations began using The Canada Life Assurance Company as their operating identity on January 1, 2020. Great-West later acquired retirement-related businesses from Prudential Financial, while Putnam Investments was agreed for sale to Franklin Templeton in 2023 and transferred in 2024, excluding Putnam subsidiary PanAgora Asset Management. Great-West Lifeco's business model is primarily institutional and relationship-based. It serves individual policyholders, employers, pension-plan sponsors, financial advisers, and institutional investors. Its offerings include life, disability, critical-illness, creditor, and health insurance; group benefits; defined-contribution and defined-benefit retirement services; annuities; savings and investment products; and investment-management mandates. Through its subsidiaries, the group serves consumers directly and distributes products through advisers, employers, brokers, banks, and institutional channels. The company remains headquartered in Winnipeg and is indirectly controlled by Power Corporation of Canada. Its regional operations give it a diversified revenue and earnings base, but also expose it to insurance regulation, interest-rate movements, capital-market performance, longevity and mortality trends, foreign-exchange movements, and changing retirement-plan economics. Great-West Lifeco is therefore best understood not as a single consumer-facing insurer, but as a publicly traded financial holding company whose prominent operating brands provide insurance and investment services across several developed markets.
History
The Great-West Life Assurance Company was incorporated in Winnipeg on August 28, 1891. Jeffry Hall Brock, a local insurance agent, founded the company with support from Winnipeg business and civic figures. Alexander Macdonald, who later served as Winnipeg mayor, became its first president in 1892, while Brock acted as managing director. The company was created in a Canadian market in which many insurers were foreign-owned and few were managed from Western Canada. Its early purpose included helping mobilize capital for the region's agricultural, commercial, and urban development. Great-West paid its first death claim in 1893. By 1896 it had developed a presence across Canada, and in 1906 it entered the United States through Fargo, North Dakota. It later expanded into additional American states, including Michigan and Minnesota in 1920 and several Midwestern and western markets during the following decades. The company diversified its investments across mortgages and government securities, helping it withstand the First World War, the 1918 influenza epidemic, the Great Depression, and the Second World War. Brock left the business because of illness in 1912 and died in 1915; C. C. Ferguson succeeded him as chief executive. The company entered accident and health insurance in 1942, becoming the first Canadian insurer identified in the reference material to enter that field. It continued to expand its physical and administrative infrastructure in Winnipeg, including a new headquarters on the former Osborne Stadium site in 1960 and later offices near Broadway and Osborne. In 1979, its Canadian and U.S. operations were separated as the American business grew more rapidly. Great-West introduced a universal-life policy in 1982, and Power Financial Corporation was established in 1984 as a holding structure for Great-West and related businesses. Power Corporation of Canada acquired Great-West in 1969. The transaction linked the insurer to the Desmarais family's broader financial-services group and ultimately made Great-West Lifeco part of a publicly traded holding-company structure. Great-West acquired London Life in 1997, one year after acquiring the Canadian operations of Prudential Insurance Company of America. The group then made a major strategic move in 2003 by acquiring Canada Life Financial. That transaction added a large Canadian insurer with roots dating to 1847 and substantially increased Great-West's scale in insurance, savings, and wealth management. The 2000s brought further international and retirement-services expansion. Great-West acquired U.S. Bancorp's retirement-plan business and additional retirement assets from MetLife in 2006. In 2007 it acquired Putnam Investment Management from Marsh & McLennan Companies. The company sold Great-West Healthcare to Cigna in 2008, reducing its direct U.S. medical-insurance exposure. Irish Life Assurance was acquired in 2013 from the Irish government, giving the group an important Irish platform in life assurance, pensions, and investments. Great-West also acquired Invesco's Irish business in 2018. The group subsequently emphasized operating integration and retirement services. Protective Life acquired part of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company in 2019. In Canada, the amalgamation of Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life was approved in 2019 and became effective on January 1, 2020, with the combined insurer operating as The Canada Life Assurance Company. In 2021, Great-West Lifeco agreed to acquire retirement-related businesses from Prudential Financial for approximately US$3.5 billion, strengthening its American retirement platform. In 2023, it agreed to sell Putnam Investments to Franklin Templeton for US$925 million; the transaction, excluding PanAgora Asset Management, was completed in 2024. Today, Great-West Lifeco functions as a multinational financial holding company rather than a single unified retail brand. Its subsidiaries and operating businesses provide insurance, workplace benefits, retirement-plan administration, annuities, wealth management, and investment management in Canada, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Isle of Man. The Canada Life identity is central to its Canadian and European insurance operations, while Empower is a major U.S. retirement-services business. Ownership remains linked to Power Corporation of Canada, and the company continues to trade publicly in Canada.
- 2024
Putnam sale completed
[1]Franklin Templeton completed its acquisition of Putnam Investments, excluding PanAgora Asset Management.
- 2021
Prudential retirement businesses acquired
[1]Great-West agreed to acquire retirement-related businesses from Prudential Financial.
- 2020
Canadian operations consolidated
[1]Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life operations began operating under The Canada Life Assurance Company.
- 2013
Irish Life acquired
[1]Canada Life Limited completed the acquisition of Irish Life Assurance.
- 2008
Great-West Healthcare sold to Cigna
[1]Great-West sold its Denver-based healthcare business to Cigna.
- 2007
Putnam Investments acquired
[1]The group acquired Putnam Investment Management from Marsh & McLennan Companies.
- 2003
Canada Life Financial acquired
[1]Great-West Lifeco acquired Canada Life Financial in a major transaction that materially increased its Canadian scale.
- 1997
London Life acquired
[1]Great-West took over London Life, expanding its Canadian insurance and savings platform.
- 1979
Canadian and U.S. operations separated
[1]The Canadian and American operations were separated as the U.S. business expanded rapidly.
- 1969
Acquisition by Power Corporation
[1]Power Corporation of Canada acquired Great-West, establishing the group's enduring ownership connection.
Products and positioning
Diversified, insurance-centered financial-services group serving individuals, employers, retirement-plan sponsors, advisers, and institutional investors.
Insurance
Life insurance
The group provides individual and group life-insurance products through regional operating companies, including Canada Life and related legacy businesses. Coverage is distributed through advisers, employers, and other intermediaries and is designed to provide death benefits, financial protection, and, in some structures, savings or investment features.
Insurance · 1942
Health, disability, and group benefits
Great-West Lifeco's businesses offer health, disability, critical-illness, creditor, and employee-benefit solutions. These products serve individuals as well as employers sponsoring workplace benefit plans. The group previously operated a U.S. healthcare business that was sold to Cigna in 2008.
Retirement services
Retirement plans and annuities
Retirement services include employer-sponsored defined-contribution and defined-benefit plans, recordkeeping, retirement income products, and annuities. The U.S. platform includes Empower, while Canadian and European businesses provide workplace savings, pensions, and related retirement solutions.
Investment management
Wealth and investment management
The group provides mutual-fund, savings, wealth-management, and institutional investment services through businesses such as Canada Life, Irish Life, and its former Putnam platform. The portfolio has changed through acquisitions and divestitures, including the agreed sale of Putnam to Franklin Templeton.
Operating brand · 2020
Canada Life
Canada Life is the central operating identity for the consolidated Canadian insurance businesses and also has operations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Isle of Man. Its activities include life and health insurance, workplace benefits, pensions, savings, and wealth management.
Retirement services brand
Empower
Empower is Great-West Lifeco's U.S. retirement-plan recordkeeping and workplace-retirement platform. It serves employer-sponsored plans and retirement savers and became a major component of the group's American financial-services operations through the assembly of retirement businesses.
Brand decisions
2023
Agree to sell Putnam InvestmentsM&ABackground
Great-West Lifeco decided to reshape its investment-management portfolio and agreed to transfer Putnam to another global asset manager.
Action taken
Franklin Templeton agreed to acquire Putnam Investments, excluding PanAgora Asset Management.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in 2024 and reduced Great-West Lifeco's direct ownership of the Putnam platform.
Transaction value. US$925 million (2023 announcement)
2021
Acquire Prudential retirement businessesM&ABackground
Great-West Lifeco continued to build scale in U.S. employer-sponsored retirement services.
Action taken
The company agreed to acquire retirement-related businesses from Prudential Financial.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened the group's U.S. retirement-services portfolio.
Transaction value. US$3.5 billion (2021 announcement)
2020
Consolidate Canadian insurance operationsStrategyBackground
Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life had overlapping Canadian operations and brands within the same group.
Action taken
The businesses were amalgamated and began operating as The Canada Life Assurance Company.
Aftermath
Canada Life became the principal Canadian operating identity, while the group retained its broader Great-West Lifeco holding-company structure.
2008
Sell Great-West Healthcare to CignaM&ABackground
Great-West Lifeco reviewed its U.S. healthcare exposure and chose to sell the Denver-based healthcare business.
Action taken
The business was sold to Cigna.
Aftermath
Great-West Lifeco exited that healthcare business and lost approximately 1.9 million customers associated with it.
Transaction value. Approximately US$1.9 billion (2008)
2003
Acquire Canada Life FinancialM&ABackground
The transaction was intended to increase Great-West Lifeco's scale and broaden its insurance, savings, and wealth-management capabilities.
Action taken
Great-West Lifeco acquired Canada Life Financial.
Aftermath
Canada Life became one of the group's principal operating businesses and later the core identity for consolidated Canadian operations.
Transaction value. US$4.7 billion (2003)
1997
Acquire London LifeM&ABackground
Great-West sought to expand its Canadian insurance and savings presence through the acquisition of an established domestic insurer.
Action taken
Great-West acquired London Life.
Aftermath
London Life became part of the group's Canadian operating portfolio and later formed part of the Canada Life consolidation.
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