''This article refers to Prudential Financial, based in the United States. See
Prudential Plc for information about the UK based company.''
, Inc. () and its subsidiaries provide
Insurance ,
Investment Management , and other financial products and services to both
Retail and institutional customers throughout the
United States and in over 30 other countries. Principal products and services provided include
Life Insurance ,
Annuities ,
Mutual Funds ,
Pension - and
Retirement -related investments, and administration and
Asset Management . In 1981, the company acquired
Bache & Co. , a
Stock Broker age service now operating as a wholly owned subsidiary. Prudential has organized its principal operations into the Financial Services Businesses and the Closed Block Business.
Prudential is composed of hundreds of subsidiaries and holds more than $1.9 trillion dollars of life insurance.
skyline, with the Prudential Financial headquarters.]]
Started in
Newark, New Jersey in 1875, Prudential Financial, as it is known today, was originally called the "Friendly Assurance Company" and was founded by
John F. Dryden , who later became a U.S. Senator. It sold one product, industrial life insurance.
secured the headquarters building in August, 2004.]]
A history of The Prudential Insurance Company of America up to about 1975 is the topic of the book ''Three Cents A Week'', referring to the premium paid by early policyholders.
Prudential's
Logo , The
Rock Of Gibraltar , is one of the most recognized corporate symbols in the world. Slogans "Own a Piece of the Rock" and "Strength of Gibraltar" are also still quite widely associated with Prudential. The former slogan was dropped for a time during the mid-1980s, due to jokes related to the death of actor
Rock Hudson from AIDS-related cancer.
Prudential has evolved from a mutual insurance company (owned by its policyholders) to a stock company. It is now traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol .
In April
2004 , the company acquired the retirement business of
CIGNA Corporation .
On
August 1 ,
2004 , the
Office Of Homeland Security announced the discovery of terrorist threats against the Prudential Financial headquarters in
Newark, New Jersey , prompting large-scale security measures such as concrete barriers and internal security changes such as
X-ray machines.
Prudential received a 100% rating on the
Corporate Equality Index released by the
Human Rights Campaign starting in
2003 , the second year of the report. In addition, the company was named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" in
2004 by ''
Working Mothers '' magazine.
