Prudential 2007 Annual Report Download - page 6

4Prudential Financial 2007 Annual Report
around the world, is the true driver behind our success and gives
us a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace. In 2007,
we once again added to our Life Planner force through a very
selective recruiting process. And we posted a 92 percent first-
year policy persistency rate across all of our Life Planner
operations, which speaks to the quality of our Life Planner force
and the sales they make. The
increase in the number of Life
Planners, our corresponding sales
growth and excellent persistency
rate continue to give us a solid
platform for growth.
Japan remains our largest and
most important market for
International Insurance, and both
Prudential of Japan, our flagship
Life Planner business, and
Gibraltar Life, our traditional
life insurance business there,
continued to perform well. While
the life insurance market in Japan
has been shrinking for more than
a decade, our market share has
been steadily increasing. Prudential of Japan and Gibraltar Life
posted solid adjusted operating income in 2007, and our policy
persistency rates in both operations continue to be among the
highest in the industry. Prudential of Japan celebrated its 20th
anniversary in 2007 and today, we believe it is one of the best
insurance companies in the world.
In 2006, we opened a new life insurance operation in
Mexico, and our first class of Life Planners have already started
selling protection-oriented life insurance products there. In
2007, we also entered the life insurance market in India,
partnering with real estate giant DLF Group to form a joint
venture. This new company will enable us to take advantage
of India’s rapidly growing insurance market.
Our investment—through a consortium of investors led by the
Carlyle Group—to acquire a minority stake in China Pacific
gave us access to another fast-growing market: China. While
we continue to explore strategic opportunities with China
Pacific, the value of our investment has already increased
substantially.
Our International Investments business once again produced
double-digit gains in adjusted operating income. While some
of the increase is attributable to income from the sale of our
interest in an operating joint venture in Germany, continued
strong results from our asset management business in Korea
also contributed to those gains.
We also have an exciting emerging markets story to tell on the
international investment front. Everbright Pramerica Fund
Management Company, our investment management joint
venture in China, increased its assets under management
from $258 million in 2006 to more than $7.8 billion in
2007. In December, we again partnered with DLF Group,
this time to form a new asset management joint venture in
India. This gives us a foothold in the mutual fund industry
of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Our employees are making a difference.
We believe that our accomplishments in the marketplace start
in the workplace. The success we have achieved around the
world is a direct result of the talent, hard work and leadership
of our more than 40,000 employees, and our ability to
attract, retain and develop the best talent remains a key
competitive advantage for us. That is why we are deeply
committed to providing a work environment that fosters
respect, champions diversity, applauds innovation and gives
employees every opportunity to realize their potential.
Our success in providing an inclusive and opportunity-rich
workplace earned us significant recognition in 2007. For the
18th consecutive year, we ranked among Working Mother
magazine’s “Top 100 Companies for Working Mothers” list
and earned a permanent spot in the magazine’s Hall of Fame.
We received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s
Corporate Equality Index for the fifth year in a row, and we
earned a spot on Hispanic Business magazine’s Diversity Elite
60 list. We were also chosen by BusinessWeek as one of the
“Best Places to Launch a Career.”
We are especially proud of the recognition we received
from Fortune magazine in 2007. The magazine named
Prudential the most admired insurance company in the
world, and we scored particularly high marks in the areas
of innovation, long-term investment, global reach and
community involvement.
Our commitment to the community has been a hallmark
of our company, and in 2007 we continued our tradition
of improving the neighborhoods where we live and work.
The Prudential Foundation directed approximately
$25 million in grants to organizations focused on
economic development and education, and Prudential
Our businesses
offer an
outstanding mix of
growth and return
opportunities,
deliver diverse
earnings streams
and create balance
in our risks.