Prudential Financial has created a new business division that will effectively combine the company’s Individual Annuities business and Retirement Institutional Investment Products division under one group.
According to the announcement, Prudential Retirement Strategies will serve the retirement needs of both individual and institutional customers and will include pension risk transfer and international reinsurance activities, among others.
The business will be headed by President Dylan Tyson, with the company saying the move will position Prudential with “unique breadth and scale in the retirement marketplace to protect critical financial outcomes for individuals and institutions.”
Prudential is one of many companies caught up in the white-hot mergers & acquisition frenzy in the retirement space. Earlier this year, Empower Retirement announced it will acquire Prudential’s retirement business in a multi-billion-dollar deal. The deal has Denver-based Empower absorbing Newark-based Prudential’s full-service retirement plan recordkeeping and administration business for a total transaction value of $3.55 billion.
Under the current restructuring, Yanela Frias, previously president of Prudential Retirement, will become the new president of Prudential’s Group Insurance business. She will retain responsibility for the administrative operations until the sale to Empower closes, which is expected in the first quarter of 2022, pending customary regulatory approvals. Jamie Kalamarides, the current president of Group Insurance, will be leaving Prudential after the transition of his responsibilities to Frias.
“This new structure brings together market-leading talent and capabilities to focus on a singular mission: Solving the retirement needs of individual and institutional customers across the U.S.,” said Caroline Feeney, CEO, U.S. Insurance and Retirement Businesses. “The creation of Prudential Retirement Strategies is another step forward in the transformation of our business and product portfolio and the acceleration of our growth.”
Prudential’s U.S. Insurance and Retirement Businesses portfolio, led by Feeney, includes oversight of Group Insurance, Individual Life Insurance, Retirement Strategies, and the Retail Advice and Solutions organization, as well as key support functions, which include Enabling Solutions and Enterprise Capabilities.
Prudential Financial has more than $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2021, with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
SEE ALSO:
• Empower to Acquire Prudential’s Full-Service Retirement Biz for $3.55 billion
Lynn Brackpool Giles is a contributing editor to 401(k) Specialist. Giles is a former Managing Director of Communications and Consumer Services for the Financial Planning Association (FPA), where she oversaw all corporate, legislative, and consumer communications. In her current journalistic practice, she is a frequent contributor to numerous financial services industry publications.
