Ravi Chandran
Prudential takes the complexity out of planning for longer lives with new wealth solutions on its health and wellness app, Pulse
- The AI-powered app coupled with in-depth advice from the insurer’s financial consultants will better support Singaporeans with new wealth solutions and in their financial planning journey
Prudential Singapore (“Prudential”) is helping Singaporeans better plan for their rising longevity with new wealth solutions on its health and wellness app – Pulse by Prudential (“Pulse”).
The wealth tools, called “Wealth@Pulse”, are designed to make it simpler for everyone to begin their financial planning journey. Pulse users can seek wealth tips from Ruby, a digital assistant powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), set and track financial goals with My Goals and get access to curated content on how to save and invest for the future. They can also connect to a Prudential financial consultant through the app for in-depth financial advice on how to protect and grow their wealth.
Pulse is currently available in 11 languages across Asia and Africa, including Singapore, which is the first Prudential market to launch the new wealth solutions.
Mr Dennis Tan, CEO, Prudential Singapore said Prudential wants to enhance financial literacy and help people plan for their life goals with greater confidence using the new wealth solutions on Pulse.
A recent research commissioned by Prudential has found that nearly half of Singapore’s residents do not believe they will have enough savings to sustain themselves in the future1. This confidence has been further affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Very often, people put off financial planning because they find it complex and do not know how or where to start. Such procrastination could result in financial stress down the road. As we live longer, we will need a bigger nest egg to fund our extended retirement years. This means we need to learn to make our money work smarter with the right financial solutions,” said Mr Tan.
How Pulse empowers people to take charge of their financial wellbeing with the new wealth solutions
The following features are available on Pulse to support users on their financial planning journey.
- Ruby – Ruby is an AI digital assistant. She is trained to respond to users’ queries on financial planning. Users can ask Ruby for tips from how to invest to how much they should save every month so they can achieve their goals. Using her AI capability, Ruby is able to form an understanding of what a user needs, make inferences and then provide personalised recommendations that address those needs.
- My Goals – This goal setting feature allows users to set and to track financial goals such as retirement, education, or property purchase. For instance, one can calculate the retirement sum they need, and the monthly savings required to achieve it, based on their desired retirement age, lifestyle, income and savings in CPF and bank accounts. This calculation takes into account factors such as costs of living and interest rates to provide a more realistic view.
- Knowledge Centre – This centre comprises bite-sized resources that users can easily access to enhance their financial knowledge. Content pieces are recommended based on the user’s unique needs and search behavior on the app.
- 360 View – Users who are Prudential customers can access a dashboard that provides a single view of their insurance plans in protection, savings, and investment with the company.
- Explore Solutions – Based on the goals set, users can explore solutions from Prudential’s suite of insurance solutions in protection, savings and investment.
If users need in-depth advice at any point, they can access a ‘Call Me Back’ option to connect with a Prudential financial consultant and schedule an appointment.
Mr Tan added, “At the end of the day, insurance is a people business. By giving users easy access to a human expert, Pulse marries AI and emotional intelligence to enable a more seamless and holistic customer experience. With Wealth@Pulse, we are empowering our customers with financial knowledge and enabling our agency force with a powerful tool that will help them better support our customers in achieving their life aspirations.”
Helping people be wealthier and healthier with a single app
Pulse was launched in Singapore on 23 April 2020 and has crossed 260,000 downloads to date. Across Asia and Africa, Pulse has been downloaded 26 million times2.
Pulse started as a health app to motivate people to stay healthy with easy-to-access preventative healthcare tools. Today, Pulse has a suite of health solutions3 including an AI-powered symptom checker, health assessment, and online doctor consultation service. Users can also purchase bite-sized insurance plans on the app to get coverage for dengue, breast cancer, and prostate cancer and get complimentary coverage for side effects from a COVID-19 vaccination.
With the new wealth features on Pulse, users can enjoy the convenience of having both health and wealth solutions in one app, said Mr Tan. “We want to partner individuals and their families in improving their wellbeing. With Pulse, we have made it easier for people to focus on their two key priorities in life – health and finances – so they can be healthier and more financially prepared for the future.”
Pulse is available to Singapore residents aged 18 and above. Pulse users do not have to pay a subscription fee when they download the app and register themselves.
“As Singaporeans are living longer, the new wealth solutions provided by Prudential’s app is timely,” said Paul Ho, chief officer at iCompareLoan.
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) provides solutions to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals and families. It is a discipline which incorporates structuring and planning wealth to assist in growing, preserving and protecting wealth, whilst passing it onto the family in a tax-efficient manner and in accordance with their wishes. Wealth management brings together tax planning, wealth protection, estate planning, succession planning and family governance.
Private wealth management is delivered to high-net-worth investors. Generally, this includes advice on the use of various estate planning vehicles, business-succession or stock-option planning, and the occasional use of hedging derivatives for large blocks of stock.
Traditionally, the wealthiest retail clients of investment firms demanded a greater level of service, product offering and sales personnel than that received by average clients. With an increase in the number of affluent investors in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for sophisticated financial solutions and expertise throughout the world.
As the term wealth management has become more common, some companies have shifted towards a model which asks clients about life goals, working environments, and spending patterns as a way to increase communication.
