3rd Qrtr&9 Mths Rslts-Summary

Sun Life Fin.Services of Canada Inc
24 October 2001


Sun Life Financial reports third quarter net income of $215 million, or $.51 per
share, an increase of 6 per cent


HIGHLIGHTS: 


*  Strong earnings from the Company's protection businesses offset profit       
   pressures in wealth management. 

*  Tight cost management reduces operating expenses relative to prior quarter. 

*  MFS extends favourable sales trend with quarterly net funds inflows of $3.9  
   billion. 


(TORONTO - October 24, 2001) Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc. 
(NYSE/TSE: 'SLC') today reported shareholder net income of $215 million for the 
quarter ending September 30, 2001, an increase of 6 per cent over the $203 
million earned in the same period in 2000. Earnings per share of $0.51 were up 6
per cent from the $0.48 per share earned in the third quarter a year ago. 
Expense savings relative to the second quarter, more than offset the earnings 
impact of an 11 per cent decline in revenues. Revenues for the quarter were 
$3,526 million, compared with $3,945 million in the second quarter of 2001. 
Assets under management were $299.2 billion at quarter end, a decrease of 8 per 
cent compared with the $326.4 billion at June 30, 2001, and a decline of 13 per 
cent relative to assets of $344.8 billion at September 30, 2000. Return on 
equity was 12.1 per cent in the third quarter, down from 12.3 per cent in the 
second quarter of 2001.     

                          Financial Summary 
                                    Quarterly Results        Nine Month 
                                                              Results 
                                 3Q'01   2Q'01   3Q'00     2001      2000 
            
Shareholder Net
   Income ($mm)                    215     212     203      629       581 
Earnings Per Share ($)             .51     .50     .48     1.49      1.40 
Revenues ($mm)                   3,526   3,945   4,249   11,804    12,170 
Return on Equity (%)              12.1    12.3    12.8     12.2      12.7 
Average Shares Outstanding (mm)  420.7   420.7   421.7    420.9     414.3 

'Sun Life Financial maintained solid earnings momentum in the third quarter 
despite a number of significant challenges confronting financial services firms,
especially those with our focus on wealth management,' said Donald A. Stewart, 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. 'The Company's solid performance during 
this difficult period is a credit to our balanced business profile with its 
strategic diversity of protection and wealth management businesses. We have said
for some time that we intended to pursue a strategy which balanced the stability
of insurance businesses' earnings with the higher long-term growth prospects of 
wealth management. It's challenging quarters like this which demonstrate the 
wisdom of the course we have chosen.' 

C. James Prieur, President and Chief Operating Officer observed, 'Our US Annuity
and Insurance business line had a strong quarter earning $55 million, more than 
double that unit's earnings of the second quarter. Individual Life led this US 
performance with earnings of $33 million for the quarter, up more than 30 per 
cent from the second quarter. MFS Investment Management earned $58 million in 
the third quarter, down 11 per cent from the $65 million earned in the second 
quarter. This earnings decline resulted from the impact that retreating equity 
markets had on MFS' revenues. Nevertheless, MFS continued to record enviable net
funds inflows of $3.9 billion for the quarter, which compares very favourably to
the net redemptions experienced by much of the investment management industry.' 

Paul Derksen, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer said, 'The 
strength of the Sun Life Financial growth strategy was demonstrated by our 
ability to readily access the capital markets in late September and early 
October to secure financing for the Keyport/IFMG acquisition. We are pleased 
that the market's continuing enthusiasm for Sun Life Financial's securities 
allows us to smoothly execute our growth strategy undeterred by disruptions in 
the financial markets. We also made progress in reconfiguring our business 
profile in announcing agreements to sell Sun Bank and SLC Asset Management, both
headquartered in the UK. These sales will repatriate more than $400 million in 
capital for redeployment against more attractive business opportunities.' 

The Board approved a $0.12 per share dividend to shareholders of record on 
November 19, 2001, payable on December 31, 2001. This dividend rate will be 
reviewed in the first quarter of 2002. 

FINANCIAL REVIEW
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
At September 30, 2001, assets under management were $299.2 billion, a decrease 
of $45.6 billion or 13 per cent relative to the $344.8 billion at September 30, 
2000. Relative to assets under management of $326.4 billion at June 30, 2001, 
assets under management declined by $27.2 billion, or 8 per cent. These declines
are attributable to the sustained decline in international equity markets over 
the course of the past year, partially offset by net sales of mutual funds and 
managed funds, of $4.1 billion in the third quarter. 

Total revenue in the third quarter was $3,526 million, a decrease of $419 
million, or 11 per cent, compared to the $3,945 million recorded in the quarter 
ending June 30, 2001. The three components of revenues, fee income, investment 
income and premiums, each recorded declines for the quarter. Fee revenues 
declined by $57 million or 7 per cent to $762 million primarily as a result of 
the adverse impact of declining international equity markets on the Company's 
wealth management businesses. Investment income declined by $34 million 
resulting primarily from declines in the market value of the Company's equity 
portfolio. Premium revenues also declined, with annuity premiums declining by 
$288 million and life insurance premiums declining $39 million. The decline in 
life insurance premiums was primarily a result of the $29 million decline in 
life insurance premiums from the UK where the Company exited the direct sales 
force business earlier this year. Annuity premiums in the third quarter declined
$662 million compared to annuity premiums recorded in the third quarter of 2000,
primarily due to United States Annuity and Insurance Operations.This decline did
not have a significant impact on net income in the quarter. 

Earnings attributable to shareholders for the third quarter were $215 million, 
up $12 million, or 6 per cent from the $203 million earned in the third quarter 
of 2000. Total net income, which includes earnings attributable to 
policyholders, was $214 million, an increase of $12 million, or 6 per cent, as 
compared to the $202 million earned in the third quarter of 2000. Net cash flows
in the third quarter of 2001 were $503 million compared to $20 million in the 
third quarter of 2000. At September 30, 2001 cash, cash equivalents and short-
term investments were $4.5 billion compared to $3.7 billion a year earlier and 
$4.3 billion at June 30, 2001. 

Year-to-date earnings of $629 million were $48 million, or 8 per cent, higher 
than the $581 million earned on a proforma basis, in the comparable period of 
2000 with improved earnings in Canadian Operations, UK Operations, and Corporate
Capital, partially offset by lower earnings in US Operations and MFS. The 
earnings decline in US Operations was primarily due to lower venture capital 
gains, and the MFS decline resulted from the decline in equity values. 

PERFORMANCE BY OPERATING UNIT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                        Third Quarter 2001 
                                                 Earnings  Equity (1)   ROE
                                                   ($ mm)      ($ mm)   (%)  
        
Canada                                                51        1,273  16.5 
United States                                         55        1,442  15.1 
MFS Investment Management                             58          418  60.4 
United Kingdom                                        37        1,464  10.7 
Asia                                                   3          503   2.5 
Corporate Capital                                     11        2,188   2.1 
Total Company                                        215        7,288  12.1 

(1) Period end

Three of the Company's operating units, Canada, US and MFS, achieved 
profitability which exceeded the Company's hurdle rate. These units reported 
ROE's of 16.5, 15.1 and 60.4 per cent, respectively, for the third quarter. 
These three units represent a total of $3.1 billion, or 43 percent of the 
Company's total equity.

The Company has taken a series of decisive actions to address the performance of
the remaining three entities: 

*     UK Operations are in the midst of a significant restructuring including 
the repatriation of more than $400 million from the recently announced sales of 
Sun Bank and SLC Asset Management.

*     Corporate Capital unit includes approximately $1.5 billion of capital held
in the form of liquid assets identified for imminent deployment in the fourth 
quarter as part of the financing for the purchase of Keyport/IFMG.

*     Asia Operations continues to receive investments in infrastructure and 
market development in aggressive pursuit of longer-term profit opportunities.

Canadian Operations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                    Quarterly Results                YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00  2001   2000 
               
Revenues ($mm)                     896   932 1,030   927    980 2,858  3,019 
Net Income ($mm)                    51    55    49    62     45   155    122 
ROE (%)                           16.5  17.6  13.6  15.8   12.1  15.8   11.1 

Canadian Operations earned $51 million in the third quarter of 2001, an increase
of $6 million, or 13 per cent, relative to the $45 million earned in the third 
quarter of 2000. This increase was primarily the result of the improvement in 
earnings from Individual Life and Group Life and Health as a result of reduced 
expenses and improved morbidity and mortality experience. 

Year-to-date earnings of $155 million were $33 million higher than the $122 
million earned in the comparable period of 2000. This increase was largely 
attributable to improved earnings in the Individual Life and Group Life and 
Health businesses due to reduced expenses and improved claims experience.

                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
($mm)                            3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00  2001   2000 
                
Individual Life                      7     8    10    42      3    25      6 
Group Life & Health                 23    23    12    27     18    58     41 
Group Retirement Services            9    12    11    15      9    32     30 
Spectrum & Other                     9     6    10    (8)     8    25     32 
Investment Portfolio & Other         3     6     6   (14)     7    15     13 
Total                               51    55    49    62     45   155    122 

*     Individual Life reported earnings of $7 million for the current quarter, 
an increase of $4 million over the third quarter of 2000 primarily due to 
improved mortality experience.

*     Group Life and Health earned $23 million in the quarter, an increase of $5
million compared to the third quarter of 2000 primarily due to better mortality 
and morbidity experience.

*     Group Retirement Services earned $9 million in the third quarter of 2001, 
the same as the third quarter of 2000.

*     Spectrum & Other earnings improved to $9 million in the current quarter 
from $8 million in the third quarter of 2000. This increase was the result of 
lower expenses in the Individual Annuity business partially offset by lower 
earnings in Spectrum Investments.


United States Annuity and Insurance Operations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Revenues ($mm)                   1,528 1,755 2,021 1,858  1,996  5,304  5,301 
Net Income ($mm)                    55    27    50    43     63    132    186 
ROE (%)                           15.1   7.7  15.8  13.7   21.4   12.8   22.2 

US Annuity and Insurance Operations earned $54 million in the third quarter of 
2001, compared to $63 million in the third quarter of 2000, a decrease of $8 
million, or 12 per cent. This decrease is largely a result of earnings declines 
in the Investment Portfolio, as well as a decline in Retirement Products and 
Services, which was adversely impacted by US equity markets.

Year-to-date earnings of $132 million declined from the $186 million earned in 
the first nine months of 2000. This $54 million decrease was the net result of 
venture capital gains in 2000, which were not repeated in 2001, partially offset
by lower asset provisions in 2001. Both the venture capital gains and the asset 
provisions are recorded on the Investment Portfolio and Other line. In addition,
earnings from Retirement Products and Services declined while Individual Life 
achieved earnings growth. Individual Life's profitability benefited from a 
larger inforce block of corporate-owned life insurance ('COLI'). Year-to-date 
2001 earnings were also strengthened by higher investment income and pricing 
improvements in Group Life and Health.

                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
($mm)                            3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Retirement Products and Services    15     1    13    15     29     29     58 
Individual Life                     33    25    23    21     13     81     54 
Group Life & Health                 11    10     6    12      7     27     13 
Investment Portfolio & Other        (4)   (9)    8    (5)    14     (5)    61 
Total                               55    27    50    43     63    132    186 

*     Retirement Products and Services reported earnings of $15 million, a 
decrease of $14 million or 48 per cent relative to the $29 million earned in the
third quarter of 2000. The primary factor causing this decrease was a decline in
fees related to declining market valuations and favourable actuarial adjustments
of $16 million included in third quarter 2000 results.

*     Individual Life had another solid quarter earning $33 million, an increase
of $20 million, or 154 per cent, relative to the $13 million earned in the third
quarter of a year ago. This increase was primarily the result of higher earnings
on a larger inforce block of COLI business.

*     Group Life and Health earned $11 million in the third quarter, a $4 
million, or 57 percent increase relative to $7 million earned in the third 
quarter of 2000. The profitability growth reflects a market environment which 
accommodated price increases in the Company's stop-loss business. This 
contribution was partially offset by increased death benefits in the Group Life 
line of business.

MFS Investment Management
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Revenues ($mm)                     541   587   603   614    629  1,731  1,768 
Net Income ($mm)                    58    65    58    60     72    181    196 
ROE (%)                           60.4  75.8  76.6  75.1   86.7   70.3   87.8 

MFS earned $58 million in the third quarter, a decline of $14 million, or 19 per
cent, compared to the $72 million earned in the third quarter of 2000. Relative 
to performance in the second quarter of 2001 with earnings of $65 million, 
returns in the third quarter declined by $7 million, or 11 per cent. Two factors
mitigated the severe adverse impact of declining equity valuations in the third 
quarter on MFS' earnings: (1) net funds inflows provided a partial offset to 
asset valuation declines, and (2) aggressive cost control contributed to 
enhanced profit margins.

Year-to-date earnings of $181 million were $15 million less than the $196 
million earned in the first three quarters of 2000. Lower revenues due to 
declining equity valuations were only partially offset by lower expenses due to 
spending constraints.

                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Net Income (C$mm)                   58    65    58    60     72    181    196 
Assets Under Management (C$B)      194   222   210   223    240    194    240 
Net New Sales (C$Billion)          3.9   7.8  12.4   8.0    8.9   24.1   23.6 
Market Movement &
 Currency Fluctuations (C$B)     (37.1)  3.6 (24.8)(24.9)   4.0  (52.9)  15.5 
 
*     Net new sales for the quarter were $3.9 billion (US$2.5 billion).

*     £2 ranking for net new retail mutual fund flows in the non-proprietary 
channel with inflows of US$5.3 billion (year-to-date August, 2001)

*     Captured 12 per cent of the retail mutual fund industry's net funds flows 
through the non-proprietary channel with US$5.3 billion (year-to-date August, 
2001 funds flows).

*     Market share in the advice-driven channel grew to 6.8 per cent (year-to-
date, August, 2001), up from 6.4 per cent in 2000.

*     £5 ranking for overall mutual fund net new flows at US$5.7 billion (year-
to-date August, 2001).

*     £9 ranking by size among US mutual fund companies with US$81billion in 
long term mutual fund assets under management (August 31, 2001). 


United Kingdom Operations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Net Income ($mm)                    37    50    39    37     32    126     82 
ROE (%)                           10.7  15.2  12.0  11.7   10.7   12.6    9.0 

Earnings for the UK were $37 million in the third quarter of 2001, an increase 
of $5 million, or 16 per cent, relative to earnings of $32 million in the third 
quarter of 2000. This earnings increase primarily resulted from significant cost
savings which accompanied the Company's exit from the direct sales force 
business in the first quarter of this year. 

On February 15, 2001, Sun Life Financial announced its decision to exit the 
direct sales force distribution business in the UK. The sales force was 
terminated on March 30, 2001. 

Year-to-date earnings in 2001 increased by $44 million to $126 million from $82 
million for the first nine months of 2000. This increase in earnings was 
primarily due to reduced income taxes in 2001 following the resolution of a 
previously outstanding issue. 

Net income for the UK declined by $13 million, or 26 per cent, in the third 
quarter to $37 million as compared with earnings in the second quarter of 2001 
of $50 million. This earnings decline resulted from the adverse impact of equity
market declines on the unit-linked business. 

The recently announced sales of Sun Bank and SLC Asset Management had no impact 
on third quarter net income. Both sales, which will create gains, are expected 
to close in the fourth quarter. Combined net income for the two subsidiaries was
$8 million in the third quarter, equal to their combined earnings in the second 
quarter of this year. 


Asian Operations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Revenues ($mm)                     107   106   103   115    103    316    298 
Net Income ($mm)                     3    10     8     6      9     21     21 
ROE (%)                            2.5   8.6   7.5   6.0    8.5    6.1    6.8 

Earnings for Asia in the third quarter were $3 million, a decrease of $6 
million, or 67 per cent relative to earnings of $9 million in the third quarter 
of 2000. This decrease was largely the result of a similar decline in earnings 
in the Company's Philippines operations. Earnings in the Philippines were 
adversely impacted by a decline in investment income, which resulted from the 
broad retreat in the Philippines equity markets. Third quarter income in 2001 
was also reduced by higher expenses in Hong Kong associated with development 
initiatives. Year-to-date earnings of $21 million were equal to the comparable 
period of 2000. 

Asia's earnings include the impact of continuing investments in the Asian market
in pursuit of longer-term growth prospects. Investments to develop the Hong Kong
market were particularly significant in the third quarter results. 

Corporate Capital
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate capital includes those operations for which management responsibility 
resides at the Company Centre. 

                                    Quarterly Results                 YTD 
                                 3Q'01 2Q'01 1Q'01 4Q'00  3Q'00   2001   2000 
                
Net Income ($mm)                    11     5    (2)    3    (18)    14     26 
ROE (%)                            2.1   1.0   n/a    .9    n/a     .9    n/a 

Corporate Capital reported earnings of $11 million in the third quarter of 2001 
compared to a loss of $18 million in the comparable period a year earlier. The 
loss reported in the third quarter of 2000 included a special asset provision of
$19 million. Investment income declined by $10 million reflecting lower average 
investment yields as assets were shifted to short-term securities in preparation
for the Keyport/IFMG acquisition and the impact of declines in the international
equity markets. Offsetting the reduction in investment income was a reduction in
income taxes of $10 million due to the re-evaluation of several potential income
tax liabilities. 

Shareholders' Equity
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Shareholders' equity was $7,288 million at September 30, 2001, an increase of 
$846 million from September 30, 2000. Return on equity ('ROE') for the third 
quarter of 2001 was 12.1 per cent, down from the 12.3 per cent achieved in the 
second quarter of 2001. ROE declined despite a $3 million increase in net 
income, as shareholders' equity increased by $459 million, which included a $295
million increase resulting from currency translation. The increase reflected a 
weaker Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar at September 30, 2001. This 
$295 million adjustment to shareholders' equity due to currency translation 
affected only balance sheet items and had no impact on net income. The average 
Canadian/US dollar exchange rate, used for the calculation of income items, was 
unchanged from the second to the third quarters. 

Company Highlights
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
*     The Company raised $330 million in common equity in a transaction which 
closed October 4 to finance a portion of the Keyport/IFMG acquisition. The sale 
involved the issuance of 11 million shares at a price of $30.00 per share.

*     $950 million of Tier 1 equity securities, Sun Life ExchangEable Capital 
Securities ('SLEECS'), were issued in October as a second portion of the 
financing of the purchase price for Keyport/IFMG.

*     Definitive agreements to sell Sun Bank and SLC Asset Management, both 
headquartered in the UK, were announced with anticipated closings in the fourth 
quarter. These transactions were part of a strategic review of the Company's UK 
operations. 

SUN LIFE FINANCIAL 

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization 
providing a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and 
services to individuals and corporate customers. Tracing its roots back to 1871,
Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets 
worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, 
the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2001 
the Sun Life Financial group of companies has total assets under management of 
CDN $299 billion. 

Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSE), New York
(NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol 'SLC', and 
on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol 'SFC'. 

NOTE TO EDITORS:    All figures shown in Canadian dollars unless otherwise 
noted. Exchange rates used by the Company for balance sheet purposes, as at 
September 30, 2001 were as follows: 

1 USD=$1.58
1 GBP=$2.33 

Media contacts: 
John Vincic                           Francine Cleroux
[phone]                        [phone]  


Investor Relations contact: 
Thomas Rice
[phone]  

Web site: www.sunlife.com

SUN LIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES OF CANADA INC.
COMPARATIVE HIGHLIGHTS - 2001 vs. 2000 
(in millions of Canadian dollars) 

                 For three months ended Sept. 30  For nine months ended Sept. 30
                           2001   2000   Change        2001   2000   Change 
                              $      $     %              $      $      %     
Shareholders Net Income (1) 
Earnings 
Per Share(1)                215    203     6            629    581      8 
 - Basic                   0.51   0.48     6           1.49   1.40      6 
 - Fully Diluted           0.50   0.48     4           1.48   1.40      6 
Weighted Average Number
 of Shares Outstanding 
 - Basic                  420.7  421.7                420.9  414.3  
 - Fully Diluted          421.6  421.7                421.4  414.3  

Return on Shareholders'
  Equity(1)               12.1%  12.8%                12.2%  12.7%   
                
Gross Sales and Deposits        
Mutual Funds              8,087 11,158   (28)        30,755 35,052    (12) 
Managed Funds             7,119  6,742     6         25,171 18,388     37 
Segregated Funds            972  2,061   (53)         4,397  5,448    (19) 
                
Revenue               
Premium Income            1,873  2,452   (24)         6,635  6,824     (3) 
Net Investment Income       891    929    (4)         2,757  2,884     (4) 
Fee Income                  762    868   (12)         2,412  2,462     (2) 
Total Revenue             3,526  4,249   (17)        11,804 12,170     (3) 
                

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                          As at Sept. 30      As at Dec.31    
                                        2001    2000  Change      2000   
                                           $       $    %            $      
Assets Under Management               
General Funds                         58,824  54,564   8        55,802   
Segregated Funds                      42,016  50,198 (16)       48,741   
                
Other Assets Under Management                
 Mutual Funds                        137,112 176,999 (23)      163,160   
 Managed Funds and Other              61,246  63,068  (3)       60,830   
Total Assets Under Management        299,198 344,829 (13)      328,533   
                
Total Equity               
Participating Policyholders' Account      78      80                79   
Shareholders' Equity                   7,288   6,442             6,618   
Total Equity                           7,366   6,522             6,697   
                
MCCSR (%)                                284     290               295   

Notes:

(1) Amounts for Q1 2000 are on a pro forma basis assuming the Company had become
public on January 1, 2000.