Canadian life insurers a 'safe haven' from trade war, Scotiabank says

iA Financial

03/02/2025 13:55

** Scotiabank says Canadian life insurers stand out as an
attractive "safe haven" from a trade war
    ** U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered sweeping
tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, sparking a trade war that
could impact global growth
    ** Canada, a top U.S. trading partner, has vowed retaliatory
tariffs
    ** Brokerage says macro-economic impacts on the sector
should be modest as core insurance products are recession
resilient 
    ** Says that earnings streams and market exposure are
geographically diversified, except for iA Financial  IAG.TO 
that is more focused on Canada
    ** Great-West Lifeco  GWO.TO  is now Scotiabank's top pick
among Canadian life insurers, followed by Manulife Financial
 MFC.TO  
    ** Brokerage says it likes the fundamentals of life insurers
and their ability to provide shelter from the coming tariff
storm

 (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
 ((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))