PGIM’s Matt Shafer, the firm’s head of international distribution, describes himself as “a real student of the financial services industry”.
Though he joined PGIM less than two years ago, he boasts a career in investment spanning more than two decades, having most recently worked at BNY Mellon as head of investment management EMEA and European distribution.
“Despite my strong American accent, I have focused on non-US markets since 2007 – so I have a good blend of experience across different roles and regions – mainly within the Bank of America Merrill Lynch world,” Shafer tells Portfolio Adviser.
“I have spent about 40% of my career on the client side, within the wealth management and fund selection world, and the other 60% within asset management distribution roles.
“I interned at broker dealers and wire houses at university back in the day. My father has been in the advisory industry for a long time, so I feel like this has always been my path. And, I have to say, I couldn’t be happier about it.”
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One of the reasons Shafer joined PGIM was because he saw it as “a brand on the rise” – and he has big growth plans for the firm. While it is a well-known name in the US, with a total of $1.3trn (£1.01trn) assets under management globally, the distribution head says the next plan of attack is to grow the business’s intermediary space across Europe, the UK and Asia.
“As an organisation, especially given our business model and our diversification, as well as the fact we invest throughout the cycle, we have the ability to grow across any number of markets,” he explains. “Our multi-affiliate model is the secret sauce of PGIM, offering fixed income, equities and, increasingly, alternatives into both private wealth, and eventually retail, spheres.
“So really we start there, and our mission statement is the same – whether you’re in the UK or Asia, and that’s to offer diversification and the best of PGIM, in a way that can be easily consumed by wealth clients and private banking clients.”
Read the rest of this article in the November issue of Portfolio Adviser magazine
