For much of the past decade, Prudential has felt like a super-sized, FTSE 100 conglomerate with an identity problem. First, there is the insurer’s Asian division, a high-growth business that has been increasing sales of health cover at almost exponential rates. Then, in the United States, there is Jackson National Life, selling retirement and investment products in a market that has done well out of the baby-boomer generation but is massively competitive. In Britain, there is a low-growth life and pensions unit. Finally, there’s M&G, the fund management division that manages the money of Prudential policyholders but also runs funds on behalf of savers and investors outside the insurer in multiple geographies. It is facing its own pressures, not least on fees.
Put simply, there