Does Sun Life Financial Inc.'s (TSE:SLF) CEO Salary Reflect Performance?

Dean Connor became the CEO of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) in 2011. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at other big companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Sun Life Financial

How Does Dean Connor's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Sun Life Financial Inc. has a market capitalization of CA$27b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth CA$9.1m. (This is based on the year to 2017). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at CA$1.1m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations over CA$11b and the median CEO compensation was CA$8.8m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.

That means Dean Connor receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a large company. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Sun Life Financial, below.

Is Sun Life Financial Inc. Growing?

Sun Life Financial Inc. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 2.1% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 19%.

This revenue growth could really point to a brighter future. And, while modest, the earnings per share growth is noticeable. So while we'd stop just short of calling this a top performer, but we think it is well worth watching.

Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. .

Has Sun Life Financial Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Sun Life Financial Inc. has generated a total shareholder return of 32% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Dean Connor is paid around what is normal the leaders of larger companies.

The company isn't showing particularly great growth, and shareholder turns haven't been particularly inspiring in the last few years. But we don't think the CEO compensation is a problem. Shareholders may want to check for free if Sun Life Financial insiders are buying or selling shares.

Or you might rather take a peek at this analytical visualization of historic cash flow, earnings and revenue.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.