Prudential Adds Investment Choices for Variable Annuities

Two of the new portfolios incorporate alternative asset classes as part of their core holdings. The Advanced Series Trust (AST) Academic Strategies Asset Allocation Portfolio and AST Schroders Multi-Asset World Strategies Portfolio.

According to the Prudential announcement, AST Academic Strategies Asset Allocation Portfolio offers the latest research and strategies used by endowment fund managers to provide exposure to traditional investments with a full range of non-traditional asset classes. Quantitative Management Associates, an investment manager of equity and asset allocation portfolios for institutional and retail clients, and Prudential Investments LLC, work in consultation with Advanced Quantitative Consulting (AQC) to determine the overall asset allocation strategy, Prudential said.

Schroders’ U.S. registered investment advisers (RIAs) will manage Prudential’s AST Schroders Multi-Asset World Strategies Portfolio.

The third new option, the AST Focus Four Plus Portfolio, provides exposure to four distinct quantitative equity market strategies managed by First Trust Advisors L.P. and exposure to the “core plus” fixed income strategy of Western Asset Management Company and Western Asset Management Company Limited. The use of these strategies and asset classes is designed to increase investment diversification and lower expected volatility.