Prudential Financial Planning Services
Pruco Securities, LLC is both an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a broker-dealer registered with both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). It markets its financial planning and investment management services under the name Prudential Financial Planning Services.
The firm's investment advisory representatives (IARs) are also brokers and insurance agents. As you would probably expect of a large corporation, it has representatives across the country, with headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.
Prudential Financial Planning Services Background
The parent company of Prudential Financial Planning, aka Pruco Securities, is The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The insurance company in turn is owned by Prudential Financial, Inc., which is a Fortune 500 company. Most people think of the Rock of Gibraltar when they hear Prudential. Its ticker symbol is PRU.
Prudential Financial Planning is only one of the Prudential’s investment advisor firms. There are also PGIM Investments LLC, PGIM Inc., Prudential Customer Solutions LLC, Prudential International Investments Advisers, LLC, Prudential Private Placement Investors, L.P. and QMA LLC. If that’s not confusing enough, many of these firms have alternate names.
Prudential Financial Planning Services Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Prudential Financial Planning primarily works with individuals who do not have a high net worth. The firm also works with trusts, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities.
Each investment program has its own minimum. PruChoice carries a minimum of $25,000 and PruUMA carries a minimum of $50,000. PSP has just a $5,000 minimum. That said, Prudential Financial Planning may waive program minimums at its discretion. Though, managers and funds may have higher or lower minimums that you’ll need to meet, too.
Services Offered by Prudential Financial Planning Services
As mentioned, Prudential Financial Planning offers investment management through three wrap fee programs: PSP, PruChoice and PruUMA. Except for PruChoice, all are on a discretionary basis. The PSP and PruChoice programs invest only in mutual funds and ETFs. PruUMA is an umbrella account for multiple accounts.
Additionally, IARs offer financial planning and may sell variable life insurance, variable annuities, mutual funds, 529 college savings plans and general securities.
Prudential Financial Planning Services Investing Philosophy
The firm does not adhere to a single strategy or method of analysis. Instead, it provides access to the universe of options to meet mostly any person’s needs (the exception may be uber-wealthy people). These different strategies or model portfolios are developed by outside money managers who have expertise that IARs may lack. That said, Prudential Financial Planning’s programs are designed generally for people with intermediate to long-term investment time horizons.
Fees Under Prudential Financial Planning Services
Client fees are based on the value of their assets under management. In the PSP program, client fees range between 1.12% and 2.20%. In PruUma accounts, the client fee covers the firm fee, IAR fee and model provider fee. The total fee ranges from 1.22% to 2.30%. There is also an optional tax management and impact services overlay fee that follows a tiered schedule and runs from 0.10% to 0.05%.
PruChoice clients pay an annual maximum 2.0%. This is the net of the maximum 2.75% allowed minus the 0.75% credit applied to offset advisory fees that affiliates receive from Prudential funds in the program. Standard financial plan fees generally range between $600 and $15,000, at an hourly rate that runs between $50 and $450.
What to Watch Out For
In its most recent SEC filings, Prudential Financial Planning reported 56 disclosures. Advisory affiliates were responsible for less than half of them. There were also a handful of actions where Prudential Financial Planning or Pruco Securities was actually at fault. As a result, the firm faced various disciplinary actions.
As noted earlier, IARs also sell securities and insurance products. These multiple roles can pose a potential conflict of interest when they are advising clients to buy products that they earn commissions on. However, IARs are legally bound by their fiduciary duty when making recommendations to clients, putting their best interests over anything else.
Opening an Account With Prudential Financial Planning Services
If you'd like to work with Prudential Financial Planning Services, go online to the firm's website and submit a contect form. You can also call (800) 235-7637 or visit an office if you'd prefer to speak with someone that way.
All information was accurate as of the writing of this article.
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- Choosing a financial advisor involves vetting them, making sure they have an expertise in areas you and your family care about and more. To find options near you, use SmartAsset’s free matching tool. If you're ready to pick an advisor, get started now.
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