Short Takes: Keyport Taps Bankers For Push in Annuities

Keyport Life Insurance Co. has recruited two former bankers to help it market annuities through brokerages and financial planners.

J. Terry Smith and David J. Nitsch were named regional vice presidents of the Boston-based insurance company. Both men will report to Mark R. Tully, Keyport's national director of traditional sales.

A spokeswoman for Keyport said Mr. Smith and Mr. Nitsch were hired because of their expertise in investment products and varied backgrounds. Mr. Smith worked for State Street Boston Corp., and Mr. Nitsch was an investment manager at First Interstate Bancorp.

The positions were created after a reshuffling of marketing territories earlier this year, the spokeswoman said.

Keyport, which manages $11 billion of assets, is a unit of the Liberty Financial Cos. The company is a leading seller of fixed and variable annuities through banks, brokerage firms, and financial planners.

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