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Prudential Financial IncPRUCOMMENTFeb 04, 2015Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 18, 2026. Market Open.
An Asian pure-play in insurance. The overall Asian market was down last year. They achieved all their growth goals in the past year, though. They will benefit from long-term secular trends in Asia. He expects good penetration rates in China where the middle is growing, so PRU is well-positioned. Today, he heard that Sun-Life is taking a trip to China to learn about that market.
US Lifeco vs Financials PRU-N is at risk to interest rates on their premiums collected as he thinks yields will remain neutral. He is not keen on BAC-N either at this point for the same views of the yield curve. Things can't get any better for each right now -- a no man's land right now. He sees a bit better bid for Lifecos, but mostly from a defensive position. There are more compelling areas than these two spaces.
BAC vs. PRUDENTIAL If both benefit from wider rates, the spreads will widen for U.S. banks, which have been
pulling back. BAC has A 10% market share in the U.S. which is as big as the entire Canadian banking system. BAC has lot of exposure to the plain mortgage side where spreads should expand. Be patient and you'll see earnings and dividends. U.S. lifecos should benefit, too, but so will Canadian ones like MFC-T (which is a good entry point now). He prefers American banks over their lifecos.
Insurers make their money in 2 ways. Basically selling insurance and hoping that losses are less than what they got on the premiums, but also make money investing the premiums while waiting for the loss experience. When interest rates are high, it is easy for insurance companies to buy very safe bonds, invest those unearned premiums and rake in the spread. However, when they are low, it is tough for them.