Prudential has promoted the former president of its broker/dealer and corporate RIA arm to lead its 2,800-strong Prudential Advisors division, which oversees roughly $60 billion in client assets.
Pat Hynes will officially become president of the insurer’s advice and retail division on March 31. He takes the job after running sales and business development for Prudential Advisors, which includes fee-based financial planners and investment advisors who also sell Prudential’s life insurance and annuity products. Before that, he was president of Pruco Securities, the insurer’s b/d and RIA arm, for over two years.
Hynes replaces Brad Hearn, who has been in the position for more than six years and will be moving into a role as president and chief operating officer of Prudential Holdings of Japan, also effective March 31.
Hynes said part of his mandate with the promotion will be to maximize a partnership Prudential finalized with LPL Financial last November for the independent broker/dealer to build out a new technology platform for Prudential’s advisors. That agreement was first announced in August 2023, with $25 billion in Prudential client assets already onboarded with LPL and another $35 billion to transfer in the coming months.
“While I’m taking on the role of President of Prudential Advisors, our strategy remains the same,” Hynes said. “That is, to provide the best possible experience for our financial advisors—including support, resources and capabilities—so they can focus on delivering a full suite of holistic financial solutions to their clients.
One of the reasons that Newark, N.J.-based Prudential signed on with LPL was “to significantly enhance our advisor and client offering by adding their wealth management platform and financial solutions to our strong brand, existing product suite and advisor and client support model,” Hynes said.
As of November, LPL has invested more than $300 million to build the technology platform and integrate and onboard Prudential Advisors. According to a company announcement, the partnership was partly built on the two firms’ working together in the annuity space dating back to 1989.
Hynes said the firm, which grew its advisor base by more than 200 last year, will continue a recruiting push under his watch, including fee-based financial planners.
“We recognize the growing demand for fee-based services, but not necessarily fee-only services,” he said. “It’s important to us that while not all advisors focus in all areas, they have the ability to team up with other advisors who can serve the full set of client needs.”
Hynes said the emphasis on fee-based financial planning also allows Prudential to “grow in other areas, such as our investment advisory business, retirement planning and solutions, and protection.”
Hynes joined Prudential in 1996 as assistant general counsel for its Prudential Securities division, working on legal complaints filed against advisors before climbing through the ranks.
“Given our focus on setting a new standard for the advisor and client experience as our foundation for growth, I’m confident that Pat is exceptionally well-suited to help us achieve these priorities and capitalize on new opportunities in a rapidly evolving financial landscape,” Caroline Feeney, incoming CEO of Prudential’s global retirement and insurance businesses, said in a statement.