Wealth platform Ascentric and financial advice business Prudential Financial Planning (PFP) will be rebranded to adopt their parent company’s name M&G Wealth.
M&G created M&G Wealth in 2020 following the acquisition of the platform from Royal London, and then integrated the advice arm and M&G Direct into the firm.
As part of the rebrand, the Ascentric and PFP names will no longer be used, and the wealth business will introduce a “fresh, new visual identity”.
Ascentric, which was set up in 2008, has already contacted all the advisers on its platform to inform them of the changes, given that the brand is one that their clients know and trust, M&G Wealth said.
PFP was formed in 2011 to focus on restricted financial advice. In 2019, the company created The Advice Partnership (TAP) with a self-employed restricted advice salesforce.
Last year, the advice firm announced several job cuts to favour the self-employed business.
‘Greater together’
David Montgomery, managing director at M&G Wealth, said: “Under M&G Wealth we now have an identifiable and significant advice platform, direct to customer service through advisers, and a tailored digital experience.
“The build is on strong foundations and expertise in our platform and advice businesses. The look and feel continues the growth of our family of brands that fit together under M&G plc.
“Together we are greater than the sum of our parts – and I want that to be fully reflective in our brand and visual identity.
“Far more important to me is how we act and enhance our delivery to advisers and their clients and for sustainability and inclusivity to be at the very heart of M&G Wealth.
“By integrating our platform and advice offerings into one overall proposition, we will create greater growth opportunities, be able to provide more options, and, with our commitment to investment in technology, ultimately bring enhanced experiences”.
Growing demand for advice
Richard Denning, chief executive of the M&G Wealth platform, added: “Ascentric started as a trail-blazing brand, committed to supporting the future of advice.
“Through M&G Wealth we want advisers and their clients to feel empowered to make the best decisions to grow and protect their wealth in a sustainable way. We are wholly focused to play our part in closing the advice gap to help people reach their goals, whatever their circumstances.
“The branding of a platform is very much secondary to the trust clients have in their adviser, but these changes reinforce the scale of commitment and ongoing investment that M&G plc has in our business”.
Chris Haines, chief executive of M&G Wealth advice, said: “There is a huge, and growing, demand for financial advice.
“Our whole focus now is to make it as identifiable, accessible and affordable as possible and that’s why we are investing significantly in our proposition and digital capability.
“Not only have our customers to recognise, trust and become engaged to save with us, it’s got to be fully rewarding for them to do so”.
