"We are delighted to be joining the Phoenix Group – and looking forward to continuing our strategy to be the destination for people over the age of 50 to engage in life cover, insurance and savings."
SunLife’s managing director Dean Lamble and his management team will continue to lead the business which will operate as an independent distribution business.
The acquisition of Elevate has created one of the largest adviser platform businesses in the UK with AUA of over £40bn and net inflows of £5.1bn in the last 12 months. In total, the two platforms support over 3,000 adviser businesses and 360,000 customers.
SunLife MD Dean Lamble said: "We are delighted to be joining the Phoenix Group – and looking forward to continuing our strategy to be the destination for people over the age of 50 to engage in life cover, insurance and savings.
"The over-50 market is a fast-growing, attractive market segment that is currently underserved. SunLife's deep understanding of this market coupled with its expertise in direct marketing make it well placed to be the brand of choice for customers over 50."
Barry O'Dwyer, CEO of Standard Life, commented: "We look forward to welcoming advisers, their clients and our new colleagues to Standard Life. I am delighted that we have completed the acquisition of Elevate within the timescales we anticipated and this milestone means we are now able to engage with Elevate advisers to agree how best to work with them going forward."
David Tiller, Standard Life's Head of Adviser and Wealth Manager Propositions, added: "This acquisition is a clear sign of our continued commitment to lead the UK adviser platform market. Elevate provides highly rated and multi-award winning platform services to a large number of advisers we do not currently have a close relationship with.
"Last week the adviser consultation programme was launched, and we hope to talk to as many of the Elevate advisers as possible over the coming months to gain insight and feedback. This will help us to prioritise the things they value most, allowing us to evolve their proposition to support their businesses and their clients while delivering a sustainable platform."
