Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Financial is continuing to grow its distribution channel, Prudential Advisors, by introducing a fee-based annuity solution along with its first fee-based variable annuity.
The firm rolled out the Prudential MyRock Advisor variable annuity, which is issued by Pruco Life Insurance Company. The move comes as the firm has added its latest feature to the Prudential Advisors platform, Managed Income Solutions, a fee-based annuity solution.
“[Managed Income Solutions] provides clients with investment advice for an asset-based fee when purchasing an annuity, and it can provide an integrated view of clients’ investments, including their annuity assets, in a single report,” the firm said in a press release.
For the past few years, Prudential Advisors has rapidly evolved from a distribution platform strictly for insurance and retirement income to a more holistic financial planning model, according to Pat Hynes, vice president and head of field sales at Prudential Advisors.
The platform has included several other features including Pru Strategist Portfolio, which is a fund strategist portfolio that includes Black Rock, PGIM, American Funds and others. The platform also has PruUMA, is a unified managed account, and PruChoice, a mutual fund and ETF based wrap account.
By bringing in a fee-based annuity, it offers advisors another product that they have been asking for, said Hynes.
“The addition of fee-based annuities was natural given the growth of our investments business,” he said.
MyRock had been available through Prudential’s third-party channel for a few years before the firm made it available to its advisory community last month.
The VA charges an advisor fee based on whether the net purchase payments are more or less than $1 million. For those that are less, the VA has a .40% advisor fee, and for those that are more, the advisor fee is .25%, according to the firm.
It also charges additional fees depending on the features that are selected. One of those features is a Dynamic Income Benefit that provides protected lifetime income based on the performance of the investment options, according to the firm. The fee for this benefit is .40% regardless of the net purchase payments.
Another feature that charges a fee is the firm’s optional Return of Adjusted Purchase Payments death benefit. The fee is .10% regardless of the net purchase payments.