2025 participating fund financial highlights
Equitable’s financial strength
The participating fund
Our participating fund principles
The safe investor may accomplish:
Since 1920, our Asset Management team has provided strategic oversight of Equitable’s assets.
We have a competitive participating fund rate of return. Our participating fund has been open – and never closed – since 1936.
Our scale and disciplined investment approach provide a strong foundation for sound decision-making.
This strength allows us to pursue a broad range of shortand long-term investment opportunities and respond thoughtfully to market conditions, helping support a consistent and sustainable performance.
Strategy
Stability
Strength
This approach reflects a commitment to prudent risk management, diversified investing and disciplined execution in support of our long-term goals.
Historical participating fund performance
The mutual difference
Performance and Perspective
Equitable’s 2025 annual whole life participating fund report
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Our shared success and strength
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2325 (2026/05/14)
The Participating fund
Resources
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This longstanding continuity reflects the strength, resilience and stability of our approach across changing market environments.
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Table of contents
For more than 100 years, Equitable has proudly served Canadians. As a mutual company, we are focused on long-term value rather than short-term market pressures. We don’t answer to shareholders. We exist for our clients. That difference matters. It means every decision we make focuses on strengthening the financial wellbeing of our clients, partners, and communities we’re a part of, today, and for generations to come..
Participating policy premiums are allocated to the par fund, which is managed by Equitable with the interests of our clients in mind. The par fund supports the payment of policy benefits, dividends, operating expenses, and contributions to the surplus, with remaining assets invested in accordance with our long-term strategy. Investment returns, along with other key factors such as taxes, expenses, and death benefit claims, influence the dividend scale and the dividends payable to participating whole life policy owners each year.
The participating fund is managed to ensure that contractual guarantees, including guaranteed cash values and death benefits, are met, and is
monitored closely for overall performance. However, our mutual structure allows us to manage the par fund with a longstanding focus that puts clients first.
This guide offers a perspective into our par fund’s annual performance, including how we invest its assets, the strength and diversification that reinforce it, and the investment returns that support client dividends over time. It provides an insight into how returns are earned. It’s a transparent view into how our mutual structure works in practice, and how it continues to serve clients’ long-term interests.
We’ve kept our promise for over a century to be there when Canadians need us most. As a mutual company, that promise doesn’t change with market pressures or shareholder expectations. It endures. And it’s why we are committed to ensuring all Canadians share in the benefits of living an equitable life.
Together. Protecting today. Preparing tomorrow.
Our whole life participating fund (the par fund) is a direct expression of that mutual commitment. Designed for the benefit of participating policy owners, the par fund allows clients to share in the long-term value created through disciplined investing, thoughtful risk management and sustainable growth.
Built for Canadians, by Canadians
participating whole life clients trust us to protect what matters most.
235K+
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Strong. Stable. Here for you today and tomorrow.
1936
$3.2B
Total assets backing the traditional par fund liabilities and supporting dividends.
The first year we started selling participating whole life insurance – with dividends paid every year since.
22
6.4%
$176M
Participating dividends paid.
Dividend scale interest rate from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.
Investment expenses.
$52M
Amount paid out for death benefit claims.
Dollar values and basis points are as of December 31, 2025.
basis points
Components of the traditional participating account
For regulatory purposes, the traditional participating account has these components:
Participating fund — fulfillment cashflows
Participating contractual service margin
Participating policyholder surplus
Fulfillment cashflows represent all the cashflows required to meet all our obligations under participating policies, including margins for risk. This portion of the account is used in determining experience dividends. Assets, liabilities, transactions, and earnings are recorded in the fund. Investment income earned on the assets, less investment expenses, determines the investment return.
To help us spread income evenly, we review the performance of investments over time. We use the portfolio average approach. This approach shares returns with all participating clients. With the portfolio average approach, we spread out investment income fairly among classes of participating policyholders.
Throughout this document, this component is generically referred to as the traditional participating fund, or par fund, since this is the only component that directly contributes to dividend experience. At year-end 2025, the value of this fund was $3.2 billion.
At year-end 2025, the value of the participating contractual service margin was $0.5 billion and the value of the participating policyholder equity was $1.7 billion, which includes contributions from both par and non-par business.
Some of the money in the participating account goes into the contractual service margin and policyholder equity as a permanent contribution to policyholder equity. This account is used to:
Support the growth and development of Equitable’s operations and ability to invest in systems, capabilities and strategic initiatives, and
Provide financial strength and stability to help Equitable meet its obligations now and in the future.
We consider this when we determine the dividend scale.
The participating contractual service margin and policyholder surplus are not used in determining experience dividends on participating policies. They are measures of current and future profit that we track for accounting purposes. They are both forms of surplus.
Participating contractual service margin and policyholder surplus
(f) Total LICAT buffer
(c + d/e = f)
(e) Base solvency buffer
(d) Surplus allowance and eligible deposits
(c) Available capital
(a) Tier 1 capital
2,117,016
257,824
1,889,379
2,010,441
2,374,840
693,506
833,553
1,604,324
2,018,058
169%
159%
121,062
2024
2025
(b) Tier 2 capital
The financial regulator, OSFI, requires that financial institutions hold surplus to ensure that they can meet their financial obligations.1 The amount they are required to hold is determined by the size and nature of the risks they have insured.
Earnings from all lines of business (par and non-par policies) accumulate and help support Equitable’s surplus position. While Equitable is required to support its guaranteed policy values to clients, the surplus is used to build financial strength and support new business growth. This money
Table 1 shows that Equitable currently has $1.59 for every dollar we are required to hold. This means Equitable has one of the safest surplus cushions in the industry to guarantee our promises to clients. One of the most important differences between mutual companies and stock companies is who this money is intended to benefit. Equitable has no shareholders to pay.
Table 1 (in thousands of dollars)
1 Equitable is subject to regulation by OSFI, which prescribes guidelines requiring Equitable to maintain levels of capital which are dependent on the type and amount of policies and contracts in-force, and the nature of Equitable’s assets. The minimum levels of capital are calculated in accordance with the Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) issued by OSFI. At December 31, 2025, Equitable’s Total LICAT Ratio was 159%, which is well in excess of the minimum level of 100% required by OSFI.
does not contribute to the dividends that are illustrated on par policies. This money is a safety net for clients with both non-participating and participating policies in case reserves for any of Equitable’s products turn out to be insufficient.
$
The par fund is where we hold the assets for policies eligible to receive dividends. The fund is used to support paying out death benefits, surrender benefits or dividends to participating policies. The par fund is a component of Equitable’s traditional participating account.
Premiums are set based on many assumptions about how long clients will live, how investments will perform, how much it will cost to administer policies, and how to prepare for a range of participating client behaviours, including how many policies will lapse and when. These assumptions are set conservatively, and actual experience is expected to be better, although it is not guaranteed. Even when actual experience of the par fund is worse than expected, dividends can never be less than 0.
Managing for long-term stability
Dividends can be comprised of several experience components. The investment component demonstrates how funds within the participating fund were managed and performed, while other components represent the performance of the insurance aspects of our business. To mitigate abrupt fluctuations in dividends, all components may undergo smoothing or adjustments to accommodate significant changes in the experience factors of the participating fund over time.
If results for a component were better than we expected, this is a good thing and has a positive effect on the dividend scale and the dividends we pay. If results for a component were worse than we expected, this has a negative effect on the dividend scale and the dividends we pay. Positive results for some components can offset negative results for others.
Dividend components: Impact on dividends
is image outlines key components of the par fund. It shows how their relative stability and predictability contribute to dividends paid to participating clients. The following section begins by reviewing the investment returns component, as it has the highest impact on dividends, followed by explanations of the other dividend components and their impact.
The participating fund investment portfolio
Expenses
Lapse
Mortality
Investment returns
Lower impact
Highter impact
As a mutual company, we manage the par portfolio, the investment portion of the par fund, using a strategic mix of different asset classes and disciplined portfolio construction to help deliver strong, steady, long-term results for participating clients, who are also our owners.
We are proud that our clients have increasingly entrusted us with the management of the par assets, reflecting the mutual nature of the par fund where our clients with participating policies can share both the risks and rewards. As a result, assets under management in the par fund have grown to over $3.2 billion as of the end of 2025.
Despite tremendous growth, our par fund remains smaller than other par funds. However, this means we can retain the competitive advantage of our smaller size through a couple of key ways:
We can be nimble in our investment approach, and
We have the opportunity to tactically adjust our asset allocation over time with the objective of acting in the best interests of our clients and taking advantage of relative value opportunities in ever-changing capital markets.
Our par fund investment portfolio is powerful because of the diversified collection of assets and asset classes it includes. Par portfolios go well beyond stocks and bonds. At Equitable, our par portfolio includes 10 different asset classes.
1.
2.
The different asset classes include a range of fixed income assets and non-fixed income assets:
Fixed income assets are the stable backbone of the portfolio. These include public bonds (including both government and corporate bonds), private debt and commercial mortgages.
Fixed income
Non-fixed income assets enhance the portfolio’s returns by providing greater potential for appreciation of capital. These assets tend to benefit most as the economy grows. They include 4 types of equity asset classes including preferred equity, public equity, private equity, infrastructure equity, as well as real estate.
Non-fixed income
The participating fund investment portfolio details (Table 2) shows our par fund portfolio assets, their dollar amounts and what percentages of our assets are within each of the different asset classes we invested in.
Each year, we monitor how actual experience compares to our best guess for each assumption. Any differences are reflected in changes to the dividends paid and projected for the future on this basis.
Participating fund investment portfolio details
Allocation guidelines
Table 2
Value*
Weight
Cash and equivalents
Short term
Total short-term
0% - 4%
$52,234
2%
$54,395
$(2,161)
-0.6% -0.6
-0.6%
Public government bonds
Total fixed income
3%-50%
$247,256
$1,572,948
8%
50%
$234,101
$1,203,587
10%
$13,155
$369,361
-1.9%
-0.5%
Public corporate bonds
10%-35%
$665,925
21% 1
$526,501
22%
$139,424
-0.9%
Private debt
6%-20%
$271,758
9%
$192,564
$79,194
Commercial mortgages
5%-20%
$388,009
12%
$250,421
$137,588
1.8%
As of December 31, 2025
As of December 31, 2024
Changes
Preferred equity
Total non-fixed income
0% - 10%
$151,095
$1,187,656
5%
38%
$104,852
$848,188
4%
35%
$46,243
$339,468
0.4%
2.2%
Total assets
$3,157,470
100%
$2,394,081
$763,389
Policy loans
$331,503
10% 0
$278,063
$53,440
-1.1%
Other assets
$13,129
$9,848
0%
$3,281
0.0% -0.6
Public equity
10% - 30%
$578,384
18%
$407,149
17%
$171,235
1.3%
Private equity
$60,830
$39,644
$21,186
0.3%
Infrastructure equity**
0% - 3%
$2,976
$0
0.1%
Real estate
10% - 25%
$394,371
$296,543
$97,828
Total invested assets
$2,812,838
89%
$2,106,170
88%
$706,668
* In thousands of dollars. ** Infrastructure equity newly added to Equitable’s par portfolio in 2025.
Asset classes
This event is for advisors. Companions or spouses will not be invited to receptions, educational sessions, or offsite activities. Feedback gathered at the conference will help inform how we approach future events.
Can I bring a companion?
To assist with planning and coordination, for those that do not live locally in Vancouver, please provide proof of your flight details (e.g., booking confirmation or itinerary) by July 6, 2026.
If your travel arrangements change after submission, please notify us as soon as possible so our records can be updated accordingly.
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You will be responsible for your travel and accommodation costs. We have negotiated a fantastic, preferred hotel rate of $350 plus applicable taxes, per night for the two conference nights, October 19 and October 20, 2026.
Any additional nights beyond the conference dates will be offered at a rate of $429 per night plus applicable taxes, subject to availability.
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Public bonds are fixed income investments. The issuers (sellers) of the bonds are a mix of corporations and governments. Our public bond portfolio is mostly in Canadian securities. The public bonds we buy are investment grade. This means the issuers have good credit quality. There is low risk they won’t be able to pay us when the bond reaches the end of its term. Fixed income investments like bonds help to make sure there’s enough money to cover any guarantees.
Who should attend?
Equities
Public bonds
We invest in real estate both directly by purchasing and directly owning Canadian properties, and indirectly by investing in real estate funds. This provides greater diversification. Real estate investments offer steady cashflow through rent payments, while also acting as a hedge against inflation and providing potential for long-term capital appreciation.
We have 4 different types of equity categories in the par portfolio.
The commercial mortgages that we invest in are Canadian. They are also centered on major cities. Generally, we look for good income-producing properties. These properties have stable cash flows to provide a stable return.
Like public corporate bonds, private debt represents loans made to corporations. However, these investments are not offered in the public market and are available only to buyers who meet certain requirements. Private bonds like private debt usually don’t trade. This makes them harder to sell if the risk changes. Because of this, they generally have higher yields, or returns, than public bonds. Equitable’s private debt investments are mostly investment grade and include many diverse types of industries.
These include public equity, also known as common stock, and preferred equity, also known as preferred shares. Investments in both public equity and preferred equity are in companies that trade on public stock markets. We use exchange traded funds (ETFs) to invest in the public equity markets. ETFs are investment vehicles that hold a basket of securities and that trade daily on a public exchange.
Our public equity investments are broad based and in North America. This means we use ETFs to invest in a variety of companies across a variety of industries. We generally do so just in Canada and the United States. We invest in preferred equity by buying shares
issued by individual corporate issuers. Preferred equity investments usually offer more stable cashflows than public equity. They also have higher returns than fixed income assets. This makes them a good choice for the par fund.
We also have investments in private equities and infrastructure equity. Private equities are investments in companies not traded on a public stock market. These are generally smaller companies than those in the public markets. This means they can generally offer higher returns. Infrastructure equities are investments in the companies that develop, operate and maintain the systems that we rely on for modern life. These include investments in energy, transportation and digital connectivity. For both private equity and infrastructure equity, large capital investments are required and so only certain investors can buy these types of assets.
Like public corporate bonds, private debt represents loans made to corporations. However, these investments are not offered in the public market and are available only to buyers who meet certain requirements. Private bonds like private debt usually don’t trade. This makes them harder to sell if the risk changes. Because of this, they generally havehigher yields, or returns, than public bonds. Equitable’s private debt
investments are mostly investment grade and include many diverse types of industries.
Our public equity investments are broad based and in North America. This means we use ETFs to invest in a variety of companies across a variety of industries. We generally do so just in Canada and the United States. We invest in preferred equity by buying shares issued by individual corporate issuers. Preferred equity investments usually offer more stable cashflows than public equity. They also have higher returns than fixed income assets. This makes them a good choice for the par fund.
Quality of the fixed income assets
The quality of our assets is also important for optimizing outcomes. Diversification helps to manage risk within our portfolio to help achieve the most desirable and stable outcomes.
Some of the ways we diversify our assets are:
investing in different types of maturities for our fixed income portfolio,
investing in many sectors and industries for our fixed income portfolio, and
investing in a variety of different issuers in each sector.
Our focus is long-term stability. 57% of our fixed income investments have terms of 5 years or more.
Investments by term
0 to 5 years
$743,789
47%
5 to 10 years
$401,877
26%
Over 10 years
$427,282
27%
Total
Years to maturity
$ Thousands
Percentage
As of December 31, 2025, for fixed income securities. Percentages have been rounded for display purposes.
Our public and private fixed income portfolios include investment grade securities. This means the issuers are considered trustworthy and doing well. In other words, they have good credit quality.
Investments by quality
Investment grade securities get a rating of BBB or higher (A/AA/AAA) from a recognized rating company. The rating shows how likely it is for an investment to default or not be paid back. Investment grade securities have a lower chance of defaulting. The lowest risk is with securities that have an AAA rating.
AAA (high credit quality)
AA (high credit quality)
A (medium credit quality)
36%
Rating
BBB (medium credit quality)
BB or less (low credit quality)
32%
1%
Investments by sector
Our investments in public corporate bonds range across a variety of sectors.
Financials
Energy
Industrial
Infrastructure
Securitization
Communication
45%
24%
7%
3%
Non-fixed income assets
Geographic distribution of public equities
Our public equities are diversified geographically between Canada and the United States (U.S.).
As of December 31, 2025, for corporate bonds. Percentages have been rounded for display purposes.
Canada
U.S.
Percentages are based on total assets in the fund at that time and are rounded for display purposes. It also shows the allocation guidelines we follow for each of these assets. Allocation guidelines may change in the future.
Dividend scale interest rate
The dividend scale interest rate (DSIR) is used to reflect the investment performance of the par fund.
We smooth returns on riskier assets so the DSIR is not drastically affected in a short time. We then use the DSIR in setting the dividend scale to determine the interest part of the dividend payment a policy may get.
Because we smooth the ups and downs, changes in the dividend scale interest rate will lag interest rate changes and par fund returns. If interest rates are low, the dividend scale interest rate usually goes down in the future. When interest rates rise, the dividend scale interest rate usually goes up in the future.
Dividend scale vs. the economy
6.40%
Historical returns
Table 3 shows our historical par fund rate of return and dividend scale interest rate (DSIR) compared to other well-known investments and economic indicators. The DSIR is a smoothed rate gross of expenses and reflects some tax benefits.
The historical par fund rate of return reflects the actual investment return earned by the par fund over a calendar year, after investment expenses, using book yields for fixed income assets and mark‑to‑market valuation for non‑fixed income assets.
Table 3
1989
1990
10.27%
11.30%
21.37%
-14.80%
9.83%
10.82%
10.30%
11.20%
5.20% -0.6
5.00%
1991
10.04%
12.02%
9.36%
9.30%
3.80%
1992
9.60%
10.70%
-1.43% 1
8.16%
7.80%
2.10%
1993
9.55%
32.55%
7.24%
1.70%
Year
Participating fund rate of return
Dividend scale interest rate (DSIR)
S&P/TSX Total Return Index
Government of Canada 5-to-10-year bonds interest rate
5-year GIC interest rate
Consumer Price Index
10.18%
1994
9.63%
10.20%
-0.18%
8.26%
7.40%
0.20%
1995
1996
9.43%
9.14%
14.53%
28.35%
7.93%
6.86%
7.10%
5.60%
1.80%
2.20%
1997
8.54%
10.00%
14.98%
5.87%
4.70%
0.80%
1998
8.32%
9.10%
-1.58%
5.26%
4.40%
1.00%
1999
8.23%
8.80%
31.71%
5.56%
4.80%
2.60%
2000
7.41%
5.96%
5.30%
3.20%
2001
2002
7.74%
8.02%
-12.57%
-12.44%
5.32%
5.08%
4.00%
3.90%
0.70%
2003
7.70%
8.40%
26.72%
4.54%
3.10%
2004
7.64%
8.20%
14.48%
4.34%
2.90%
2005
7.48%
24.13%
3.89%
2.70%
2006
2007
7.59%
7.30%
7.90%
17.26%
4.18%
4.25%
3.30%
2.40%
2008
4.92%
-33.00%
3.36%
3.01%
1.20%
2009
8.58%
35.05%
2.84%
1.95%
1.30%
2010
17.61%
2.88%
2.00%
2011
6.00%
-8.71%
2.47%
1.87%
2.30%
2012
2013
7.34%
6.80%
7.19%
12.99%
1.63%
1.99%
1.65%
2014
8.25%
10.55%
1.86%
1.92%
1.50%
2015
4.03%
-8.32%
1.19%
1.47%
1.60%
2016
7.23%
6.50%
21.08%
1.02%
1.41%
2022
2017
2018
6.90%
3.70%
6.35%
-8.89%
1.61%
2.22%
1.39%
1.69%
1.90%
2019
7.49%
6.20%
22.90%
1.53%
2.08%
2020
5.15%
0.65%
1.28%
2021
11.07%
6.05%
25.09%
1.27%
0.99%
3.04%
-5.84%
2.78%
2.87%
6.30%
2023
6.03%
7.32%
6.25%
11.75%
21.65%
3.38%
3.33%
3.67%
3.40%
7.94%
31.68%
3.05%
2.95%
5-year GIC interest rate*
Table 3b – Average annualized returns and standard deviation
1 Year
5 Years
7.05%
6.23%
16.09%
2.76%
2.85%
3.73%
10 Years
6.56%
6.29%
12.66%
2.21%
2.69%
20 Years
6.79%
6.77%
8.44%
2.37%
2.16%
25 Years
6.98%
7.11%
8.08%
2.82%
2.43%
30 Years
7.46%
9.28%
2.13%
35 Years
Standard deviation since 1989
7.57%
1.84%
7.91%
9.50%
15.85%
4.01%
3.51%
2.63%
1.37%
Calculated as of the end of 2025.
The information in Table 3 is from Statistics Canada, Bank of Canada, and Equitable. All data is from December 31 of the year shown (for the DSIR, the rate on December 31 is set as of July 1 in the applicable year). We use the industry standard geometric return calculation to account for the impacts of compounding. Past results do not show what will happen in the future.
Mark-to-market participating fund rate of return
The mark-to-market participating fund rate of return reflects the current market value of all the assets in the par fund at a specific point in time. While it’s useful for understanding what’s happening in financial markets, it isn’t how we set the dividend scale interest rate (DSIR).
That’s because participating whole life insurance is designed with the long-term in mind. Many of the investments in the participating fund, such as bonds, are intended to be held until they mature, rather than bought and sold based on short term market changes. As a result, short-term market values don’t always reflect how these assets are expected to perform over time.
The DSIR is based on a broader, longer term view. It considers investment performance over multiple years and balances past experience with expectations for future returns. This approach helps create stability and consistency, rather than reacting to year-to-year market ups and downs.
For this reason, the mark-to-market rate of return isn’t a reliable way to predict changes to the DSIR.
Interest rates provide a helpful example. When interest rates fall, bond prices in the market typically rise. However, since many bonds in the participating fund are held to maturity, those higher market values aren’t immediately realized. Over time, lower interest rates may lead to lower yields on new investments, which could gradually affect the DSIR. When interest rates rise, the yields on new investments may support higher returns in the future. In both cases, any changes to the DSIR happen slowly and deliberately, rather than all at once.
We take a similar approach with investments that tend to fluctuate more, such as equities and real estate. Gains and losses from these assets aren’t fully reflected in the DSIR in a single year. Instead, their impact is spread over time. This smoothing helps reduce short-term volatility while still capturing their long-term value, supporting more stable outcomes for participating clients.
Because of smoothing that leads to lags between the DSIR, the par fund rate of return and market conditions, there is greater stability in the DSIR than in market rates.
DSIR future outlook
Even if market conditions led to lower interest rates, it would take some time before the dividend scale interest rate followed. Likewise, if market conditions led to increases in interest rates, the dividend scale interest rate would increase slowly.
While we cannot know what future years will hold, the long-term
downward pressure on DSIR from low interest rates has slightly reversed in recent years, with DSIR rising from 6.05% in 2022 to 6.40% in 2024 and continuing at this rate through 2025 and 2026.
Our par illustrations show the impact of if the DSIR were to drop by 1% and 2%. This helps to visualize the potential impacts to the values within participating policies over those periods, but is not a prediction of future events.
When clients who have a participating policy live longer than expected, it means more premiums are collected than anticipated and death claims are paid out later than anticipated. This can significantly enhance the performance of the par fund. The mortality component of the dividend has the most substantial impact for clients in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, since the likelihood of death is higher at these ages. For younger clients, the
Other components of the dividend
Mark-to-market (MTM) par fund rate of return for invested assets.
As of December 31, 2025.
mortality component of the dividend has less impact because the probability of death is much lower.
Equitable uses reinsurance as a risk management tool to support the long-term stability of the participating fund and to manage exposure to large individual risks. Reinsurance helps diversify mortality risk while maintaining strong capital and financial resilience. The majority of policy face amounts is retained by Equitable, with reinsurance used selectively where appropriate, consistent with industry practice and our overall risk management framework.
Like interest rates, the best estimate of life expectancy used to project decades of dividends is today’s actual results. This means that if life expectancy increases in future years, as it has over the past 100 years, then dividends would be higher than currently projected. Equitable does not assume these future gains when calculating our current mortality dividends or DSIR. The chart below shows the steady trend for many years towards longer lifespans, which is good for dividends if it continues.
Life expectancy average over the last 100 years
If a client surrenders their policy or they don’t pay their policy premiums when due, their contract with us ends. We call this a policy lapse. We expect a certain number of lapses every year, and each lapse can be either positive or negative to the par fund depending on several factors. For example, some policies have better cash surrender values than others, and it can also matter whether the policy is reinsured.
Some of the assets in the par fund are used to pay for expenses associated with the ongoing administration and management of participating policies. These are more under Equitable’s control than other factors and so are less volatile. The impact of expenses on dividends is small. Inflation pressures on business expenses can cause a drag on dividends, and operational efficiencies can provide a benefit to dividends.
Equitable has a young average age of insured persons under participating policies. By policy count, the average age is just 26.3. Weighted by premium, it is 41.8. This means that there are several decades before a typical death benefit claim is made, leaving lots of time for mortality gains to arrive and compound.
The information above is from Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0114-01 Life expectancy and other elements of the complete life table, three-year estimates, Canada, all provinces except Prince Edward Island. Visit DOI
Many life insurance companies in Canada are stock companies. Very few are mutually structured, which means ownership by clients with participating policies rather than shareholders. Equitable is one of Canada’s largest mutual life insurance companies. As a mutual, our ownership structure allows us to take a long-term approach and align our decisions with the interests of our participating clients. To this end, we keep our participating clients at the centre of everything we do.
(in thousands of dollars)
The benefits of dealing with a mutual company
As a mutual company, we provide financial security differently – by focusing exclusively on our clients.
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We believe in the power of together. We work with advisors to help ensure clients receive the right advice and solutions that meet their needs. We are focused on the client and delivering impact and positive outcomes.
Our financial strength
Client guides
Our policies
2025 Annual Report
2024 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report
2022 Annual Report
2021 Annual Report
2020 Annual Report
Participating account asset mix quarterly update
Provides quarterly commentary and updated asset mix for the participating account.
Understanding participating whole life insurance (1038)
This guide provides information to help you understand Equimax® participating whole life insurance including some key financial facts.
Equimax® client product guide (1129)
This guide provides clients with the information they need about Equimax® participating whole life insurance and its benefits.
Participating account executive summary (1828)
An overview of assets and allocation, and average annualized returns of the dividend scale interest rate.
Dividend policy
Equitable’s policy around our dividend calculation and eligibility.
Participating account management policy
Equitable’s policy around how the participating account is managed.
