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RYAN vs. SLF: Ryan Specialty vs. Sun Life Financial Stock Comparison

How do Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF) both belong to the Insurance industry, though RYAN is classified under Insurance Brokers while SLF falls under Life & Health Insurance.

Sun Life Financial (SLF) has more than two decades of public-market history since March 23, 2000, whereas Ryan Specialty (RYAN) listed on July 22, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
Profile ItemRYANSLF
NameRyan Specialty Holdings Inc.Sun Life Financial Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesCanada
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupInsuranceInsurance
GICS IndustryInsuranceInsurance
GICS Sub-IndustryInsurance BrokersLife & Health Insurance
Market Capitalization12.10 billion USD39.73 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateJuly 22, 2021March 23, 2000
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

RYAN
SLF
GSPC
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
Total Return (1Y)-17.50%30.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)2.91%20.05%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)5.30%9.37%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

RYAN
SLF
GSPC
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)43.93%21.39%
Beta (5Y)0.520.88
Max Drawdown (5Y)-60.94%-30.77%
Avg. Volume (3M)1.89M666.75K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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RYAN and SLF are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.501.20
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.671.61

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 25.15% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 11.55% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for RYAN.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

25.15%

Max
41.68%
RYAN
25.15%
Q3
22.04%
Median
14.81%
Q1
8.79%
Min
-10.66%

SLF

Insurance industry group

11.55%

Max
41.68%
Q3
22.04%
Median
14.81%
SLF
11.55%
Q1
8.79%
Min
-10.66%
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their ROE against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 8.63% keeps about the industry-typical share of revenue as profit, while Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 3.27% retains only a bottom-quartile share.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

3.27%

Max
29.92%
Q3
17.03%
Median
10.97%
Q1
6.21%
RYAN
3.27%
Min
-4.68%

SLF

Insurance industry group

8.63%

Max
29.92%
Q3
17.03%
Median
10.97%
SLF
8.63%
Q1
6.21%
Min
-4.68%
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their net margin against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) in Insurance and Sun Life Financial (SLF) in Insurance, funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
ROE (TTM)25.15%11.55%
ROA (TTM)3.79%0.74%
Net Margin (TTM)3.27%8.63%
Operating Margin (TTM)----
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 21.28% and Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 11.50% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 16.92% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at -33.80% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
Revenue Growth (YoY)21.28%11.50%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)20.93%123.82%
EPS Growth (YoY)-33.80%16.92%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)-3.31%5.68%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ryan Specialty (RYAN) in Insurance and Sun Life Financial (SLF) in Insurance both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Ryan Specialty (RYAN) in Insurance and Sun Life Financial (SLF) in Insurance run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 5.12% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 1.06% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, SLF the richer one.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

1.06%

Max
5.12%
Q3
2.15%
RYAN
1.06%
Median
0.98%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

SLF

Insurance industry group

5.12%

SLF
5.12%
Max
5.12%
Q3
2.15%
Median
0.98%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 63.75% and Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 70.41% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

63.75%

Max
76.67%
RYAN
63.75%
Q3
35.18%
Median
14.74%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

SLF

Insurance industry group

70.41%

Max
76.67%
SLF
70.41%
Q3
35.18%
Median
14.74%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
Dividend Yield (TTM)1.06%5.12%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)63.75%70.41%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 18.58 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 59.66 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for RYAN’s trailing earnings.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

59.66

RYAN
59.66
Max
28.37
Q3
18.75
Median
12.23
Q1
9.08
Min
2.32

SLF

Insurance industry group

18.58

Max
28.37
Q3
18.75
SLF
18.58
Median
12.23
Q1
9.08
Min
2.32
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 1.12 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 3.78 sits in the pricier quartile — RYAN costs more per dollar of sales.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

3.78

Max
4.03
RYAN
3.78
Q3
2.25
Median
1.23
Q1
0.85
Min
0.07

SLF

Insurance industry group

1.12

Max
4.03
Q3
2.25
Median
1.23
SLF
1.12
Q1
0.85
Min
0.07
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Sun Life Financial (SLF) at 2.26 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Ryan Specialty (RYAN) at 12.86 prices above its benchmark range — RYAN looks rich relative to book.

RYAN

Insurance industry group

12.86

RYAN
12.86
Max
5.07
Q3
2.79
Median
1.76
Q1
1.23
Min
0.30

SLF

Insurance industry group

2.26

Max
5.07
Q3
2.79
SLF
2.26
Median
1.76
Q1
1.23
Min
0.30
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Ryan Specialty (RYAN) vs. Sun Life Financial (SLF): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ryan Specialty (RYAN) and Sun Life Financial (SLF)
MetricRYANSLF
P/E Ratio (TTM)59.6618.58
P/S Ratio (TTM)3.781.12
P/B Ratio (MRQ)12.862.26
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----