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Introduction of Prudential's widest ever choice of fund guarantees
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Return of PruFund Protected Growth
Prudential UK has launched a major assault on the UK's bond and pensions market with the launch of a range of new guarantees across the PruFund Growth and PruFund Cautious funds. To reaffirm its position as a leading provider of guarantees to the intermediary market, PruFund Protected Growth is also being immediately reintroduced, giving advisers and their customers increased flexibility and choice.
Customer Protection:
Both versions of PruFund offer a unique smoothing formula which aims to give a more stable return than direct exposure to similar assets. Customers will have the added option of further protecting their investments through a range of capital guarantees. This means that no matter what happens to investment returns during the guarantee period, investors are assured to get their money back at the end of that period.
Guarantee Periods:
PruFund Growth guarantees will be available at longer and more flexible terms than before.
Customers can choose a money-back capital guarantee with terms ranging from six to ten years, making this the widest choice of comparable guarantees in the market. The charge for the guarantees will vary depending on the term chosen. Longer-term guarantees cost less than shorter-term ones. For PruFund Cautious, customers are offered the same range of terms in addition to the five-year guarantee that is already offered on the fund.
Wrapper Choice:
The PruFund range with guarantees is available across a choice of bond and pension wrappers that include; Prudential's Flexible Investment Plan (FIP), the Prudential Investment Plan (PIP), the individual pension Flexible Retirement Plan (FRP), Drawdown and the Trustee Investment Plan (TIP).
Commenting on the announcement, John Warburton, Prudential's Product Director, said: "In-depth research, feedback from IFAs and existing sales leave us certain that guarantees are a massive business driver for IFAs because more and more customers want them.
"Every so often there's an event that reminds customers that we're not out of the economic woods yet. Whether it is European sovereign debt issues or concern over nuclear reactors on the other side of the planet, people know global events have local financial repercussions. I believe it reinforces their desire to have some protection against the worse case scenario.
"Increasing the availability of our guarantees on PruFund has been driven by strong demand from advisers. The availability of guarantees remains an ongoing concern for advisers but with such a comprehensive range, we're well positioned to maintain our strong presence in this segment. This reinforces our commitment to providing a range of viable, sustainable guarantees for advisers and their customers."
Today's announcement is being supported by a comprehensive marketing campaign and an online tool to help advisers calculate the different guarantee options for their clients.
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