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New York, NY - AXA Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AXF), the financial
services holding company known until recently as The Equitable
Companies Incorporated, today announced the launch of a new
brand - AXA Advisors, LLC - to represent the
broad range of financial products and services offered through
its nationwide distribution network of financial professionals.
September 21, 1999 is the official first day of business for
AXA Advisors, LLC.
The AXA Advisors brand is a major component of the innovative
branding and growth strategies supporting the development
of AXA Financial into a leading, fully integrated financial
services company. AXA Financial, with over $390 billion in
assets under management as of June 30, 1999, has made a major
commitment in resources, training and technology to distinguish
the professionals at AXA Advisors as leading and trusted advisors.
The AXA Advisors brand more accurately reflects the expanded
capabilities that career sales associates of The Equitable
Life Assurance Society of the U.S. will be developing. AXA
Advisors is being unveiled following a pilot project that
tested the expansion of products and financial planning services
throughout the state of Texas. A TV and print advertising
campaign begins next month.
Two other integral elements of the company's strategy are
also being implemented. Equitable Life's parent, formerly
known as The Equitable Companies Incorporated, changed its
name to AXA Financial, Inc., on September 3, 1999, to better
reflect the company's diversified financial services franchises.
Additionally, capitalizing on its significant brand equity,
the Equitable Life brand will remain prominent. Equitable
Life retains its 140-year-old name and is being repositioned
to represent its innovative, best-in-class insurance and annuity
products. Equitable Life remains a subsidiary of AXA Financial,
Inc. "Delivering what the marketplace is demanding - financial
planning advice and solutions - requires a superior distribution
network of educated, credentialed and well-trained professionals
who are relationship oriented," explained Edward D. Miller,
President and CEO of AXA Financial, Inc. "Our extensive network
of career financial professionals now comprising AXA Advisors
is a powerful competitive advantage.
"Our branding now communicates more precisely who we are
and what we are becoming as well as the depth of our capabilities.
Whether clients' concerns are related to retirement, investing,
children's education, insurance, benefits or estate and tax
planning, our qualified professionals at AXA Advisors will
help people develop and implement plans to realize their short-
and long-term goals most effectively.
AXA Advisors' intent is to be a client-centric branded company,
focused on long-term relationships, quality service, respected
products and choices for clients. AXA Advisors will provide
access to an extensive portfolio of products and services
from among the world's leading financial companies, including
the AXA Financial subsidiaries - Equitable Life, Alliance
Capital Management L.P. (asset management - NYSE: AC) and
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. (investment banking - NYSE:
DLJ) - and more than 100 others.
Key elements in AXA Advisors' strategy are the introductions
of fee-based financial planning and the AXA Asset Account.
The AXA Asset Account provides - in one monthly statement
- a consolidated look at one's financial activities, including
life and annuity holdings, mutual fund, stock and bond positions
and unit investment trusts. The AXA Asset Account, which features
check-writing and debit card services, enables clients to
consolidate their assets into one place. Fee-based financial
planning and the AXA Asset Account have triggered positive
results in the Texas pilot, including:
- Approximately 250 fee-based financial plans purchased
since January;
- Significantly increased production by professionals who
are now preparing financial plans, measured against their
production over the comparable period last year;
- Assets in AXA Asset Accounts totaling over $100 million
and an average AXA Asset Account balance - $130,000 - approximately
25% greater than anticipated.
An extensive national training and education effort based
on the Texas success is underway, supported by a new state-of-the-art
Practice Development Center in suburban Atlanta.
Background
Mr. Miller pointed to well-documented consumer trends supporting
the strategy: consumers more sophisticated in demands for
information, solutions and products; more active in designing
their courses of action; and searching increasingly for a
professional "advice giver" to work them through the existing
maze of financial planning options.
AXA Advisors is targeting the affluent and emerging affluent
markets, with household income of at least $75,000. "You can
understand why this consumer is looking for help. There's
a tremendous amount of wealth in the marketplace - by some
estimates $16 trillion," Mr. Miller added.
Mr. Miller noted that virtually every study of this demographic
segment confirms that its top needs are financial planning
and advice, with an estimated 60% of consumers preferring
a single provider of this service.
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