Pru Eyes Rollover Biz After Allstate Buy

David Odenath

Prudential Financial will use last week's acquisition of Allstate's variable annuity business to capture more of the rollover market. David Odenath, president of Prudential Annuities, said the acquisition of Allstate's distribution network, combined with the additional scale and the previous acquisition of CIGNA Retirement, gives the firm an opening to capture the assets of retirees as they leave 401(k) plans, as CIGNA was the recordkeeper for so many 401(k) plans.

Annuity assets the firm manages have gone from $55 billion to $71 billion with the acquisition. Odenath said the added variable annuity business allows Prudential to offer something to people who are retiring and trying to figure out where to put their accumulated 401(k) assets. Allstate's distribution network is also a big plus because there is little overlap with Prudential's own. Prudential's strength, he said, was through individual advisors and its own agent network. The firm is looking to beef up its wirehouse and bank networks as well. Allstate had a previous relationship with Morgan Stanley and its own network of agents. The Morgan Stanley connection benefits Prudential because it is another wirehouse and the insurance agents have little overlap with Prudential's.