Prudential Financial Planning, the provider’s re-launched direct advice service, will look to expand by an additional 71 advisers by the end of the year, the company revealed in its annual results.
Launched in December 2011, PFP grew to 129 advisers by the end of 2012 and generated annual premium equivalent of £21m. In company results published today, Prudential reveals plans to increase this to a total of 200 advisers by the end of 2013.
This decision follows a “very encouraging” response from customers, according to Pru.
The company reported operating profit for 2012 broadly in line with that of the previous year for its UK operations.
Although annual premium equivalent sales were 12 per cent up to £836m and new business profit was up 20 per cent to £313bn, corporate pensions sales in the UK were down 19 per cent to £189m.
This, the firm said, was due in part to “particularly high” sales the previous year following new defined benefit contribution members joining Pru schemes from other closing schemes operated by Pru clients.
Sales of individual pensions on the other hand grew 11 per cent year-on-year to £80m.
Tidjane Thiam, group chief executive of Prudential, said regulatory changes such as the Retail Distribution Review, auto-enrolment and gender neutral pricing will inevitably create a period of uncertainty.
Of the RDR specifically he said: “This is likely to lead to some short-term disruption in the market as consumers adjust to paying fees for advice and adviser firms adapt their business models for the new rules.
“We have seen an increase in sales of with-profit bonds in 2012 and, while we have prepared our business for the post-RDR regulatory environment, we expect this transition phase to have a negative impact on our sales of investment bonds in 2013.”
