AST BlackRock Value Portfolio - Prudential Annuities

invest in convertible securities without regard to the ratings assigned by the rating services. While this segment of the Portfolio
generally will purchase securities for investment purposes, Franklin Mutual may seek to influence or control management, or
invest in other companies that do so, when it believes the Portfolio may benefit.
In pursuit of its value-oriented strategy, this Portfolio segment is not limited to pre-set maximums or minimums governing the size
of the companies in which it may invest. However, as a general rule, at least 65% of the equity portion of this Portfolio segment
will be invested in companies with market capitalizations (share price multiplied by the number of shares of common stock
outstanding) greater than $5 billion, with a portion or significant amount in smaller companies.
Franklin Mutual currently expects to invest a significant portion of the assets attributable to this investment strategy in foreign
securities, which may include sovereign debt and participations in foreign government debt. Up to 15% of the net assets
attributable to this investment strategy may also be invested in illiquid securities.
Description of “Arbitrage” Strategy. Franklin Mutual may also from time to time employ an “arbitrage” strategy on behalf of this
Portfolio segment. When engaging in an arbitrage strategy, Franklin Mutual typically buys one security while at the same time
selling short another security. Franklin Mutual generally will buy the security that it believes is either cheap relative to the price of
the other security or otherwise undervalued, and will sell short the security that it believes is either expensive relative to the price
of the other security or otherwise overvalued. In doing so, this Portfolio segment will attempt to profit from a perceived
relationship between the values of the two securities. Franklin Mutual generally will engage in an arbitrage strategy in connection
with an announced corporate restructuring, such as a merger, acquisition or tender offer, or other corporate action or event.
Investments in Distressed Companies. The investments made by this Portfolio segment in Distressed Companies typically will
involve the purchase of bank debt, lower-rated or defaulted debt securities, comparable unrated debt securities, or other
indebtedness (or participations in the indebtedness) of such companies. Such other indebtedness generally represents a specific
commercial loan or portion of a loan made to a company by a financial institution such as a bank. Loan participations represent
fractional interests in a company’s indebtedness and are generally made available by banks or other institutional investors. By
purchasing all or a part of a company’s direct indebtedness, the Portfolio, in effect, steps into the shoes of the lender. If the loan is
secured, the Portfolio will have a priority claim to the assets of the company ahead of unsecured creditors and stockholders.
Franklin Mutual generally will make such investments on behalf of this Portfolio segment to achieve capital appreciation, rather
than to seek income.
Certain Derivative Strategies and Instruments. This segment of the Portfolio may, from time to time, enter into currency-related
transactions involving certain derivative instruments, including currency forwards, and currency and currency index futures
contracts. The use of derivative currency transactions may allow this Portfolio segment to obtain net long or net negative
(short) exposure to selected currencies. This Portfolio segment may also enter into various other transactions involving derivatives,
including put and call options on equity securities and swap agreements (which may include total return and credit default
swaps). The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Portfolio to obtain net long or net negative (short) exposures to
selected countries, currencies or issuers. Franklin Mutual will consider various factors, such as availability and cost, in deciding
whether, when and to what extent to enter into derivative transactions.
This segment of the Portfolio may use any of the above currency techniques or other derivative transactions for the purposes of
enhancing Portfolio returns, increasing liquidity, gaining exposure to particular instruments in more efficient or less expensive
ways and/or hedging risks relating to changes in currency exchange rates, market prices and other market factors. By way of
example, when Franklin Mutual believes that the value of a particular foreign currency is expected to increase compared to the
U.S. dollar, the Portfolio could enter into a forward contract to purchase that foreign currency at a future date. If at such future
date the value of the foreign currency exceeds the then current amount of U.S. dollars to be paid by the Portfolio under the
contract, the Portfolio will recognize a gain. When used for hedging purposes, a forward contract or other derivative instrument
could be used to protect against possible declines in a currency’s value where a security held or to be purchased by the Portfolio
is denominated in that currency.
A forward contract is an obligation to purchase or sell a specific foreign currency at an agreed exchange rate (price) at a future
date, which is individually negotiated and privately traded by currency traders and their customers in the interbank market. A
futures contract is a standard binding agreement between two parties to buy or sell a specified quantity of an underlying
instrument or asset, such as a specific security or currency, at a specified price at a specified later date that trade on an exchange.
A “sale” of a futures contract means the acquisition of a contractual obligation to deliver the underlying instrument called for by
the contract at a specified price on a specified date. A “purchase” of a futures contract means the acquisition of a contractual
obligation to acquire the underlying instrument called for by the contract at a specified price on a specified date. The purchase or
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