Pru-AIA deal holds peril and promise for fund managers

Prudential's planned $35 billion takeover of the Asian insurance business of AIG would herald a landmark shift in the insurance sector, but also has the potential to affect the asset-management industry. Fund executives will carefully monitor how the merger of two increasingly important distribution channels will affect their business, particularly now that a rival, Prudential Asset Management, may become more prominent. With over 10,000 tied agents in Hong Kong alone, American Inte…