Prudential launches financial advisory arm in Singapore led by industry veteran

Prudential Singapore has launched a financial advisory arm to give an expanded range of insurance products including general insurance and wealth solutions for distribution across the city state.  

The new Prudential Financial Advisers unit will offer these products in addition to its core solutions in whole and term life, health, savings, retirement and group insurance while also complementing the company's existing distribution ecosystem. 

Clients will have access to a broad range of products and services including general insurance such as travel insurance and motor insurance and wealth solutions such as unit trusts.

They can also tap on the complementary solutions and auxiliary services including estate planning, family office and tax advisory, provided by PFA's partners. 

Dennis Tan, CEO of Prudential Singapore, said the financial advisory business aims to better support Singapore residents who are living longer as the country's life expectancy continues to rise. 

"We are excited to launch Prudential Financial Advisers as it adds to the breadth and depth of our offerings to address people's enhanced needs for financial security and healthcare at every stage of their life. The new entity will also strengthen our distribution network as we continue to grow our agency of more than 5,000 financial consultants, to serve the needs of all individuals." 

PFA will be led by Bernard Chai, an industry veteran of more than 40 years. In almost two decades with Prudential, he has held key roles such as head of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Partnership, director of Partnerships Development, and head of business development.

He was most recently Prudential's head of Agency Transformation before being appointed the CEO of PFA. 

Chai, CEO of Prudential Financial Advisers, said: "Customers today are expecting more one-stop solutions to meet their needs for all-of-life, especially on the back of rising life expectancy, and Prudential Financial Advisers is well-placed to meet this need. 

"We bring the best of both worlds to our customers - Prudential's life insurance offerings as well as general insurance and wealth management solutions from our partners. In this way, we help them to address their healthcare needs, as well as to protect and grow their wealth, so that they can better plan for their retirement." 

With the addition of PFA, Prudential's distribution ecosystem comprises: 

• Financial advisory firm: This new channel will offer a range of insurance and wealth solutions to customers at various stages of their financial planning journey. 
• Tied agency: One of the largest tied agency networks in Singapore with more than 5,000 financial consultants who distribute our protection, savings and investment products. 
• Bancassurance: Exclusive bancassurance partners are United Overseas Bank (UOB) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), and we work closely with them to develop and deliver innovative insurance solutions to customers. 
• Digital channels: We also offer PRUShield and microinsurance plans on Pulse by Prudential, our digital health and wellness app. Examples of microinsurance plans include: PRUSafe BreastCancer, PRUSafe Prostate Cancer, PRUSafe Dengue, PRUSafe COVIDCover, and PRUSafe Guard 22.