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    Larissa Van Deventer

    Vice President and sell-side equity research analyst at Barclays

    Larissa Van Deventer is a Vice President and sell-side equity research analyst at Barclays, specializing in European insurance equities. She covers leading companies including Prudential, Legal & General Group, and Phoenix Group, where her recommendations have contributed to notable consensus calls such as a Buy rating on Prudential with a substantial upside target; she regularly publishes research followed by institutional investors. Van Deventer began her career as an auditor at Goldman Sachs and Deloitte, then worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company before moving into equity research roles at Deutsche Bank and Macquarie, focusing on South African insurers prior to joining Barclays' European insurance team. She holds a BCom (Hons) in Accounting Sciences from the University of Pretoria, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and is both a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) and Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA), with over eleven years of sector experience.

    Larissa Van Deventer's questions to PRUDENTIAL (PUK) leadership

    Larissa Van Deventer's questions to PRUDENTIAL (PUK) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Larissa van Deventer of Barclays inquired about the key drivers behind management's confidence in reaching a capital generation inflection point and the primary risks to achieving the 2027 objectives. She also asked about the potential for further new business profit margin improvement, given the current gap with a key competitor.

    Answer

    CEO Anil Wadhwani attributed confidence to strong H1 results, a focus on quality business, and a balanced distribution model, while acknowledging agency challenges in Malaysia and Vietnam. CFO Ben Bulmer detailed a four-part strategy for margin improvement, including repricing, leveraging scale, enhancing the health and protection mix, and improving agency contribution.

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    Larissa Van Deventer's questions to PRUDENTIAL (PUK) leadership • Q1 2023

    Question

    Inquired about the normalization timeline for the Hong Kong business, the drivers behind strong growth in Indonesia, and the company's priorities for capital allocation.

    Answer

    Management expects the current Hong Kong trend, which is skewed towards savings products, to continue through the second half of the year, with a normalization in the health and protection mix occurring over the next 3 to 4 quarters. The strong growth in Indonesia was driven by a significant reactivation of the agency channel, which far outpaced the industry. For capital allocation, the first priority is organic growth, followed by building core capabilities (health, distribution tech), and then strategic inorganic opportunities like bancassurance or health acquisitions.

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