Prudential Financial plans to phase out the JennisonDryden brand come February 16, 2010, the company revealed on Wednesday. The firm's mutual fund family, which has carried the JennisonDryden tag since 2003, will henceforth bear the name Prudential Investments. Funds currently managed by Jennison will bear the name Prudential Jennison, while Prudential-managed funds will simply be renamed “Prudential.”

Judy Rice Prudential Investments President

The change will forge a closer bond – at least from a marketing standpoint – between the company's mutual fund holdings and the Prudential name, which boasts a 135-year heritage. However, the funds' investment objectives, portfolio management teams, and ticker symbols will remain unchanged. The JennisonDryden family of 40 mutual funds include asset allocation, equity, and fixed income funds.

Explaining the change, Prudential Investments president Judy Rice said in a news release on Wednesday that "it's fitting for our fund family to reflect the company's longstanding reputation."

Prudential spokesperson Theresa Miller told The MFWire that having the Prudential name on the funds gives people "an automatic connection to the company."

"In the economy we're in now especially and with the changing landscape, from now until the foreseeable future it looks like investors are and will continue to be looking for names and brands that they trust, companies that have been around for a while," Miller said.

Company Press Release

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) announced today that JennisonDryden, its mutual fund family, will be renamed Prudential _Investments_ , effective on or about Feb. 16, 2010. The mutual fund family offers funds across a range of asset classes and sectors, including equity, fixed income, real estate and specialty securities.

While the fund names will change to feature Prudential's name--linking the fund family to the company's 135-year heritage--the funds' ticker symbols, investment objectives and portfolio management teams remain unchanged.

"Prudential has helped millions around the world achieve their financial goals, so it's fitting for our fund family to reflect the company's longstanding reputation," said Judy Rice, president of Prudential Investments. "The new name also reflects Prudential's position among the largest managers of U.S. institutional assets."

Prudential has offered mutual funds to investors for more than 20 years, and has sold them under the JennisonDryden name since 2003.

"As we continue to build on our successful track record, and as investors seek out trusted companies in a new economic landscape, it's important to give financial professionals a clear way to let investors know that they are investing through a company whose experience, expertise and innovation has stood the test of time," added Rice.

Experienced asset managers, including Jennison Associates, Quantitative Management Associates, Prudential Fixed Income Management and Prudential Real Estate Investors, will continue to manage the funds. Those managers, part of Prudential's asset management businesses, also manage money for major corporations, foundations, and _pension funds_ around the world.

Jennison-managed funds will continue to carry the Jennison name as "Prudential Jennison." Dryden and JennisonDryden-named funds will be renamed Prudential. When the name change is final, financial professionals, shareholders and other interested stakeholders can continue to search by fund name, but will simply need to remember to search under "Prudential" to bring up a complete list of funds. For a complete list of name changes, please visit http://www.jennisondryden.com/view/page and click on the name change banner.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $641 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2009, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. In the United States, the company's Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, _annuities_ , retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com  

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