Prudential Plc shuts US$12b Curian fund manager in US

[NEW YORK] Prudential Plc, the UK's biggest insurer by market value, is winding down the Curian Capital asset- management operation in the US after a review of its business.

Curian will stop accepting new accounts July 31 and expects to exit the business around the end of March, the Denver-based company said Thursday in a statement.

That time period will "allow financial professionals and clients sufficient time to plan for the transition of accounts," Mark Mandich, Curian's interim president, said in the statement.

"Given the industrywide changes in technology, product offerings and market size, Curian has determined that it is no longer commercially positioned to provide clients high value investment programs over the long term."

Curian had about 7.9 billion pounds (US$12 billion) of funds under management at the end of 2014, London-based Prudential said in a statement in March. The unit posted a 2014 loss of 18 million pounds, driven by "the refund of certain fees," according to the statement.

The unit is a subsidiary of Prudential's Jackson National Life Insurance Co in the US Curian said it had 304 employees in a report on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with more than half in investment-advisory roles. A company representative declined to comment beyond the documents on asset totals or the most recent staffing levels.

"All Curian associates are directly impacted by this decision, and we remain committed to supporting them during this difficult transition," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "We are providing monetary, job-placement and counseling support to our associates during this transition."

BLOOMBERG