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Pru Life UK to open asset management company in PH

By Joann Villanueva

July 22, 2019, 5:41 pm

<p><em>(PNA photo by Joanne Villanueva)</em></p>

(PNA photo by Joanne Villanueva)

MANILA – Pru Life UK is set to open in the last quarter this year its own asset management company to offer more diverse investments to Filipinos, citing that equities and bond markets in the Philippines remain shallow.

In a briefing Monday, Pru Life UK President and Chief Executive Officer Antonio de Rosas said they have managed to secure the necessary regulatory approvals and already have license for several products.

He said products to be offered through the asset management business are purely investments and do not have insurance coverage, thus, “we are flexible in the kind of products we will offer.”

“But our distinct advantage compared to other companies is we already have a big menu of funds offered by Eastspring (Investments), which are offshore funds that we can feed into,” she said.

De Rosas explained that opinions about the lack of diversity in terms of managing Filipino investors’ risks are backed by facts.

He said that a USD1 billion equity fund is already considered huge domestically but this is minute in terms of global standards.

He, thus, noted that a major fund manager faces problem here “because you are able to move markets.”

This is the reason why Pru Life UK opted to offer products that tap equities and bond markets overseas, he stressed.

“It’s just our continuing efforts to continue to diversify our portfolio so that our clients will have more access to the different types of investments out there which are available out there,” he said.

To date, the company has six offshore funds that include the Asian Local Bond Fund, which was launched in 2013; the PRULink Dollar Bond Fund and the PRULink Asian Balanced Fund, all of which are managed by Singapore-based Eastspring Investments, which, in turn, is the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc.

De Rosas said these products cater to more aggressive investors and are part of the company’s “strategy in providing more diversification for our clients.”

Meanwhile, Pru Life UK launched on Monday the supplementary benefit to policy holders called Future Safe Rider products.

During the same briefing, Pru Life UK AVP for Product Management Daryl Adigue said Future Safe Rider increases amount of coverage of their policy holder.

She said this product increases the base amount of coverage by 5 percent annually until it reaches 50 percent, which policy owners can receive in cash if they reach the age of 90 years old.

She said this product protects policyholders’ insurance coverage against inflation and other changes in the economic environment.

Meanwhile, Pru Life UK AVP for Investment Marketing Mark Valino said they are set to launch the PRULink Global Market Navigator Fund, another peso-denominated product that will be invested in equities and bonds issued overseas.

He said this product will prove beneficial to Filipinos who are aggressive in their investments options since it capitalizes on market opportunities overseas.

He assured their clients and prospective policyholders that funds invested on these products will be in safe hands since the funds are managed by Eastspring Investments. (PNA)

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