30
COMPANY PROFILE PRUDENTIAL INTERNATIONAL ASSURANCE
2007 sales by key products
With-profits
bonds 66%
Source: Prudential
Personal bonds 22%
deposits in relatively lowrisk
investments. The Channel
Islands and Isle of
Man-based offshore banks,
with UK expatriate clients
around the world, looking
to do just this have been a
constant source of business
for Prudential International.
But to make the most
of its UK sister company’s
distribution muscle, the
firm needed a stronger and
more distinctive offshore
proposition. The Prudence
Portfolio Bond was
launched and subsequently
became the Prudential
Portfolio Account. It is now
one of the fastest-growing
products in the UK crossborder
market.
Prudential International
also writes significant levels
of flexible whole of life
business in the UK market
mainly as an IHT planning
tool on a joint-life last-survivor
basis, although sales
volumes are relatively small
and have been declining.
l European ambitions
Despite the greater focus
on the UK market since
2004, it has not neglected
the markets of continental
Europe. The firm favours
the master distributor distribution
model on a marketby-market
basis, as an alternative
to managing a large
Protection 1%
number of separate intermediary
arrangements. It
has had longstanding business
interests in Belgium
and Austria, where the
Prudence Bond, and now
the Prudential Portfolio
Account, are popular.
In 2007, it began to refocus
on freedom of services
opportunities in Germany,
where it had been largely
inactive since the sale of
the old Scottish Amicable
business in 2002. Prudential
International Deutschland
is a freedom of services
operation with Devco as its
main distribution partner.
Prudential International
has also been active in
the Middle East in recent
years on a tripping basis,
supporting IFAs that
have requested access to
with-profits through the
Prudence Bond. Its potential
to expand its business
in this growing market
is linked with the wider
Prudential Group interests
in the region, possibly the
development of its successful
Prudential Corporation
Asia operation.
l Strong position
Prudential International, as
the Dublin-based subsidiary
of one of the UK’s largest
financial services organisations
with in excess of
Flexible whole
of life 1%
Investment
bonds 5%
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
How long have you been in your current role with Prudential
International Assurance?
I have been at Prudential for six years and with Prudential
International for the past three years as product and market
development director.
INTERNATIONAL ADVISER [www.international-adviser.com] DECEMBER 2008
FRASER JOHNSTON, PRODUCT AND
MARKET DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR,
PRUDENTIAL INT’L ASSURANCE
What is your career background?
I have more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, including
product development for a start-up offshore company in Luxembourg
and two years in the IT industry, where I was involved with life and
pensions businesses.
What do you see as the key issues facing the offshore life industry
in the next two to three years?
Because risk has been transferred from the state and employers to
the individual, more people are asking: “How do I plan for a secure
future?” So we are starting to see greater client awareness of the
value of professional independent financial advice, and offshore
solutions are an integral part of this, especially when taking a longterm
view of retirement and estate planning.
Independent advisers are facing a number of huge challenges
and UK industry experts are predicting the closure of a number of IFA
firms because of increasing regulatory and financial pressures. But
advisers will re-emerge stronger and more valued than before.
What is the strategic direction of the company?
We plan to capitalise on our recognised and trusted Prudential
heritage in our core markets, notably the UK and selected markets
in Europe, creating a proposition that is tailored to the local needs.
What are the key challenges facing you now?
Primarily, responding to the current volatile markets and addressing
the issue of investor confidence. I believe well-established
companies such as Prudential will stand the test. Our challenge
is to capitalise on the success we have had in 2008 and to
progressively broaden and deepen our presence in Europe.
What makes your brand and company unique/special?
We have a strong heritage of managing clients’ money to provide
a secure future. This is reflected in the prudent way we manage
our business and communicate with our customers. We place great
importance on the trust that clients and distributors have in us.
How would you describe your company culture?
We have the benefit of being part of a large multinational company,
but at the same time being a separate business and insurance
company in its own right. We operate as a lean and dedicated team,
where individuals have the scope to develop as fast as they wish
and are supported in their professional development.
£250bn funds under management
and over 20 million
customers worldwide,
is well positioned to take
advantage of the wealth
management opportunities
that still exist despite the
global economic downturn.
The firm had a specific
origin but has since divested
itself of its original core
business in Germany and
France, re-grouped and
emerged with a new found
confidence. Prudential
International is not looking
to take on the world,
and its clear concentration
on a few European markets,
including the UK and
Germany, should enable it
to grow its business substantially
and move up
to the premier league of
cross-border providers in
those countries.
KEY POINTS
Until recently, with the launch
of its portfolio bond, Prudential
has never ‘punched its weight’
in the offshore market.
The product is now one of
the fastest growing in the
UK cross-border markets.
Prudential Group acquired
what is now Prudential
International in 1997 when
it purchased the Scottish
Amicable Group.
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