Prudential plc
Encyclopedia
Prudential plc is a multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...

 financial services company headquartered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...

 in mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam. Its Prudential UK division has around 7 million customers and is a leading provider of life and pensions in the UK. Prudential also owns Jackson National Life Insurance Company
Jackson National Life
Jackson National Life Insurance is a U.S. company that offers life insurance and annuities. It is a subsidiary of the British insurer, Prudential Plc, who bought the company for $608 million in 1986. Founded in 1961, Jackson is headquartered in Lansing, Michigan...

, which is one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States, and M&G Investments, which is a European fund management business with total assets under management
Assets under management
Assets under management is a financial term used denote the market value of funds being managed by a financial instutition on behalf of its clients, investors, depositors, etc. This metric is a sign of size and success against competition...

 of £203 billion (at 30 June 2011).

Prudential has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....

. It has secondary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...

, New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

 and Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange Limited is an investment holding company located in Singapore and providing different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges FederationSingapore Exchange...

.

History

The Company was founded on 30 May 1848 in Hatton Garden
Hatton Garden
Hatton Garden is a street and area near Holborn in London, England. It is most famous for being London’s jewellery quarter and centre of the UK diamond trade, but the area is also now home to a diverse range of media and creative businesses....

 in London as The Prudential Mutual Assurance Investment and Loan Association providing loans to professional and working people.

In 1854 the Company began selling the relatively new concept of industrial branch insurance policies to the working class population for premiums as low as one penny through agents acting as door to door salesmen. The army of premium collection agents was for many years identified with the Prudential as the "Man from the Pru".

It moved to its traditional home at Holborn Bars in 1879 and converted to a limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...

 in 1881. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...

, and is built of terracotta manufactured by Gibbs and Canning Limited
Gibbs and Canning Limited
Gibbs and Canning Limited was an English manufacturer of terracotta and, in particular, architectural terracotta, based in Glascote, Tamworth and founded in 1847....

 of Tamworth (c.1878)—two of the same driving forces behind the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...

 in London.

The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 in 1924. In 1997 Prudential acquired Scottish Amicable, a business originally founded in 1826 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 as the West of Scotland Life Insurance Company, for $1.75bn.

In 1998 Prudential set up Egg
Egg Banking plc
Egg Banking plc is a British internet bank owned by Citigroup, with headquarters in Derby and London, England. Egg was born out of Prudential's initial banking arm , that had been established in 1996...

, an internet bank
Online banking
Online banking allows customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual bank, credit union or building society.-Features:...

 within the UK. The subsidiary reached 550,000 customers within nine months but had difficulty achieving profitability. In June 2000 an initial public offering of 21% was made to allow for further growth of the internet business but in February 2006 Prudential decided to repurchase the 21% share of Egg. Egg was subsequently sold to Citibank in January 2007.

In 1999, M&G
M&G
- M&G Investments :M&G is a leading investment manager in the UK and overseas. It is an autonomous business within the Prudential Group, running its own retail and institutional funds operation and functioning as the asset manager for Prudential in Europe...

, a UK fund management
Investment management
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...

 company, was acquired.

In June 2000 the Company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

 to help focus on the US market.

21st century

In October 2004 Prudential launched a new subsidiary, PruHealth
PruHealth
PruHealth is a United Kingdom-based company specialising in Private Medical Insurance sold to the UK market. It launched its first products on 4 October 2004....

, a joint venture with Discovery Holdings of South Africa selling Private Medical Insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...

 to the UK market.

In April 2008 Prudential outsourced its back office functions to Capita: about 3,000 jobs were transferred (1,000 in Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...

, 750 in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 and 1,250 in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

). This significant outsourcing deal worth an estimated £40m for an initial three year period built on Prudential's existing relationship with Capita who took over its Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 operation in 2006 along with approximately 450 employees in a smaller operational restructure.

On 7 April 2009, it was announced that Prudential was in talks with Manchester United regarding becoming the English football giant's shirt sponsor in 2010. However, on 3 June 2009, Manchester United announced that it had signed a four year shirt sponsorship deal with American insurance giant, Aon Corporation. The deal is said to be worth £80 million over four years, replacing United's deal with American International Group
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...

 (AIG) as the most lucrative shirt deal in history. In 2010, Aon will replace troubled American insurance company AIG, which is restructuring itself having received a $150 billion (£109 billion) bail-out from the U.S. government.

On 1 March 2010, Prudential announced that it was in "advanced talks" to purchase the pan-Asian life insurance company of AIG
AIG
AIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:* And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory* Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.* Arta Industrial Group in Iran...

, American International Assurance
American International Assurance
American International Assurance known as AIA is an insurance company based in Hong Kong. It has offices in Asia-Pacific region including Taiwan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Malaysia, Macau, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam...

 (AIA) for approximately $35.5 billion. The deal later collapsed and AIA ended up raising money in an IPO.

Operations

The Company has four business units:
  • Prudential UK: the business offers pension
    Pension
    In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...

    s, annuities
    Annuity (European financial arrangements)
    An annuity can be defined as a financial contract which provides an income stream in return for an initial payment with specific parameters. It is the opposite of a settlement funding...

    , savings
    Saving (money)
    Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in a bank or pension plan. Saving also includes reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs...

     and investments (bonds
    Bond (finance)
    In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...

    , ISAs
    Individual Savings Account
    An Individual Savings Account is a financial product available to residents in the United Kingdom. It is designed for the purpose of investment and savings with a favourable tax status. Money is contributed from after tax income and not subjected to income tax or capital gains tax within a holding...

    ). They are particularly well-known for the sale of with-profit
    With-profits policy
    A with-profits policy or participating policy is an insurance contract that participates in the profits of a life insurance company. The company is often a mutual life insurance company, or had been one when it began its with-profits product line...

     bonds and pensions, corporate pension schemes, bulk annuities and individual annuities. The company left the general insurance (household, car) market in 2002, licensing Churchill Insurance
    Churchill (insurance)
    Churchill is a UK insurance company based in Bromley, London. Founded in 1989 as one of the country’s first direct car insurance companies, the company has expanded to offer a range of general insurance products...

     (now part of the Royal Bank of Scotland
    Royal Bank of Scotland
    The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...

     group) to use the Prudential name.
  • M&G: the business offers investment management services including retail fund management, institutional fixed income, pooled life, pension funds, property and private finance. Part of M&G, Prudential Property Investment Managers
    Prudential Property Investment Managers
    PRUPIM is a top 20 global real estate investment manager, providing integrated services for fund management, asset management and property management. PRUPIM, part of the M&G Group of Companies, is the real estate investment arm of Prudential plc in the UK and Europe...

     specialises in the management of Prudential's property assets.
  • Prudential Corporation Asia: based in Hong Kong, the business is the largest UK life assurer in Asia. It has had a presence in the continent since 1923 when an overseas agency for life assurance was created in India. Although this was subsequently nationalised, Prudential relaunched in India in 2000 as ICICI Prudential, a 26% joint venture with ICICI Bank
    ICICI Bank
    ICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...

    . As CITIC
    CITIC
    Not to be confused with Citigroup, another large financial services company.Not to be confused with CIT Group, another large financial services company....

     Prudential Life, a 50–50 joint venture, they were the first UK company to re-establish life business in China in 2000. There are also businesses in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
  • Jackson National Life Insurance Company: based in Michigan
    Michigan
    Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

    , United States, the business was purchased in 1986. It was named after Andrew Jackson
    Andrew Jackson
    Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

    , the seventh President of the United States of America and started business in 1961.

Prudential Assurance and Prudential Financial

There is no ownership link between Prudential plc and Prudential Financial, Inc.
Prudential Financial
The Prudential Insurance Company of America , also known as Prudential Financial, Inc., is a Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the...

, the business founded in Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 by John F. Dryden in 1870.

Management

There are currently 16 people on the board of directors. Key individuals are:
Chairman of the Board of Directors Harvey McGrath
Group Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam
Tidjane Thiam
Tidjane Thiam is a French-Ivorian businessman, currently the Chief Executive of Prudential plc. He studied engineering in France before joining the management consultants McKinsey & Company in 1986; from 1994 to 1999 he worked in Côte d'Ivoire first as a senior civil servant and later as the...

Chief Financial Officer Nic Nicandrou
President & Chief Executive Officer for Jackson
Jackson National Life
Jackson National Life Insurance is a U.S. company that offers life insurance and annuities. It is a subsidiary of the British insurer, Prudential Plc, who bought the company for $608 million in 1986. Founded in 1961, Jackson is headquartered in Lansing, Michigan...

Mike Wells
Chief Executive of M&G Michael McLintock
Chief Executive of Prudential Corporation Asia Barry Stowe
Chief Executive of UK & European Insurance Operations Rob Devey
Group Chief Risk Officer John Foley

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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