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Judy Rice
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Judy Rice, chairman of Prudential Investments and president of the firm’s broker-dealer Prudential Investment Management Services, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at Fund Industry Intelligence’s 19th Annual Mutual Fund Industry Awards at New York’s Mandarin Oriental on April 5. Rice, a 20-year Prudential veteran, is credited with building the firm’s wrap fee separately managed accounts business, shifting its proprietary mutual funds sales to third-party channels and launching the firm’s own distribution platform.
“She is one of the true treasures of this business. She has excellent judgment and is a graceful and wonderful person,” enthused Mark Fetting, chairman and ceo of Legg Mason. An example of that judgment came during the height of the financial crisis in 2008, when Rice pushed for and received approval to grow the firm’s distribution team. With 60 wholesalers today, compared to 22 in 2008, the expansion has paid off—Prudential had record net inflows of $4.6 billion in 2011. Fetting is a former colleague at Prudential and a board of governors member with Rice at the Investment Company Institute.
Avi Nachmany, director of research at Strategic Insight, credited Rice’s foresight in transitioning Prudential at a time when the industry was shifting from a direct-sales, commission-based model to a fee-based advisory-sold model. Christopher Davis, president of the Money Management Institute, added that she also was instrumental in getting the firm to refocus on whole solutions rather than individual products. “She always put the client first. There was never a question that when she was building Prudential’s business she was doing it with the investor in mind,” asserted William Turchyn, partner at Mariner Investment Group. Turchyn and Rice were among the founders in 1997 of the MMI.
On Jan. 1, Rice stepped down as president of Prudential Investments, with Stuart Parker taking over. Rice hired Parker in 2005 to manage mutual fund distribution. Under Rice’s watch as president of Prudential Investments for eight years, gross annual sales grew by 90%—to $14.6 billion as of Sept. 30, up from $1.5 billion in 2004. Prudential ranked 17th in terms of net flows last year, up from 575th place at the end of 2008, according to Strategic Insight.
Rice led the launch seven years ago of the Gateway To Leadership program, a diversity workplace initiative by MMI and the NAACP, and has actively supported it by sponsoring summer internships at Prudential Investments. She is also credited with mentoring women within the industry and is on the advisory council for the National Association for Female Executives. “She’s one of the few senior women in the industry, and I’m going to miss her!” exclaimed Darlene DeRemer, partner at Grail Partners. She cited Rice’s leadership role in supporting industry reform and best practices.
Paul Schott Stevens, president of ICI, praised Rice’s contribution to the association’s board for nearly 10 years. “This included some of the most challenging times for the Institute and the industry. She brought an especially strong perspective to policy issues based on her leadership of Prudential Investments.”
Rice will step down as chairman of Prudential Investments at the end of 2012. She is expected to remain active in the industry afterward. “For anyone who knows Judy, it’s hard to picture her as being inactive. She has so much energy and passion for this industry, and I hope she does for many years to come,” Parker said.