Prudential Retirement: Stable value critical as part of well-balanced portfolio

<p class="bwalignc"><i>White paper outlines benefits of asset class</i></p><p><location value="LU/us.nj.newark" idsrc="xmltag.org">NEWARK, N.J.</location>--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Following the volatility of the 2008 financial crisis, plan sponsors and participants have become more conservative investors seeking stable value products that preserve capital and deliver steady returns, according to a new white paper released today by Prudential Retirement. An active issuer of stable value products to qualified defined contribution retirement plans since the early 1980s, Prudential Retirement is a business unit of <org value="NYSE:PRU" idsrc="xmltag.org">Prudential Financial, Inc.</org> (NYSE: PRU). </p><p> Prudential’s new white paper, <i><b>Stable Value Products: An Increasingly Important Component of the U.S. Retirement Market (</b></i><a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.prudential.com%2Fmedia%2Fmanaged%2Fdocuments%2Fresearch_perspective%2FRP-PRU-Stable-Value-Products.pdf&esheet=6866091&lan=en-US&anchor=link+to+paper+on+website+here&index=1&md5=724a90858cc0eadbde6bedeb2604749f"><i><b>link to paper on website here</b></i></a><i><b>)</b>, </i>details how stable value products, which combine an investment in fixed income securities with a guarantee of principal and accumulated earnings, can provide fiduciaries and participants with protections not generally available within other investment choices in retirement plans. That said, roughly half of retirement plans still lack a stable value investment option. </p><p><i><b>“</b></i>Prudential’s white paper,<i><b> Stable Value Products:</b></i><i><b>An Increasingly Important Component of the U.S. Retirement Market, </b></i>provides advisors a tool to assist them in the evaluation of stable value options for their clients,” said <person>Debra Roey</person>, vice president and director of Retirement Plan Services for <location value="LU/us.pa.phldph" idsrc="xmltag.org">Philadelphia, PA.</location>-based advisor <org value="ACORN:2661389497" idsrc="xmltag.org">Janney Montgomery Scott LLC</org>. “The information in the paper is timely, as a greater percentage of plan assets are being allocated to this asset class. The format of the whitepaper is suitable for both educating our financial advisors as well as presenting to our clients as part of the plan review process,” said Roey. </p><p> The white paper also provides an overview, description and comparison of the wide range of stable value products and outcomes. </p><p> The paper further explores the role stable value products will serve in the retirement market of the future and examines the benefits of the asset class to its primary alternatives; money market funds and investment grade intermediate term bond funds. </p><p> “Stable value products are increasingly growing in importance as retirement plan sponsors make crucial retirement plan design decisions and participants seek ‘safe’ retirement investment options. Stable value products help participants protect their retirement assets at critical times, construct well diversified portfolios, and provide them with a way to save for retirement with the benefit of a guarantee,” said <person>Jamie Kalamarides</person>, senior vice president, head of Retirement Strategies and Solutions, Prudential Retirement. </p><p> Using scenarios, <i><b>Stable Value Products: An Increasingly Important Component of the U.S. Retirement Market</b></i>, the research also provides demonstrations of how a participant’s portfolio will perform when a stable value product is an investment option. </p><p> Stable Value products are issued by either <org>Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company</org> (PRIAC), <location value="LU/us.ct.hartfd" idsrc="xmltag.org">Hartford, Conn.</location>, or <org>The Prudential Insurance Company of America</org> (PICA), <location value="LU/us.nj.newark" idsrc="xmltag.org">Newark, N.J.</location> Both are <org value="NYSE:PRU" idsrc="xmltag.org">Prudential Financial</org> companies. Each company is solely responsible for its financial condition and contractual obligations. Guarantees are contingent on the claims paying ability of the issuer. </p><p> Prudential Retirement delivers retirement plan solutions for public, private, and non-profit organizations. Services include state-of-the-art record keeping, administrative services, investment management, comprehensive employee investment education and communications, and trustee services. With over 85 years of retirement experience, Prudential Retirement helps meet the needs of over 3.6 million participants and annuitants. Prudential Retirement has <money>$220.7 billion</money> in retirement account values as of <chron>June 30, 2011</chron>. </p><p><org value="NYSE:PRU" idsrc="xmltag.org">Prudential Financial, Inc.</org> (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately <money>$883 billion</money> of assets under management as of <chron>June 30, 2011</chron>, has operations in <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location>, <location value="LR/asp" idsrc="xmltag.org">Asia</location>, <location value="LR/eur" idsrc="xmltag.org">Europe</location>, and <location value="LR/cam" idsrc="xmltag.org">Latin America</location>. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.prudential.com%2F&esheet=6866091&lan=en-US&anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.prudential.com%2F&index=2&md5=6fc2e43f547ca71d174d39a4cb3ff8c6">http://www.news.prudential.com/</a>. </p><p> 0208881 0208881-00001-00 </p><p><img alt="" src="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&sty=20110919006037r1&sid=acqr4&distro=nx" /><span class="bwct31415" /></p><p><org value="NYSE:PRU" idsrc="xmltag.org">Prudential Financial, Inc.</org><br /><person>Dawn Kelly</person>, 973-802-7134 office<br />201-406-7248 cell<br /><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br />or<br /><person>Josh Stoffregen</person>, 973-802-3996 office<br />973-204-2540 cell<br /><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></p><p>Source: <org value="NYSE:PRU" idsrc="xmltag.org">Prudential Financial, Inc.</org></p>