Pamela J. Black

Fixed and variable annuities sold through banks started the year in the dumps, hitting their lowest point in a decade, according to the latest Kehrer-Jackson monthly bank annuity sales survey.

TD Bank Financial Group said Wednesday it is "transitioning out of" its financial advice business.

Not many clients can invest in a fund that regularly beats the Standard & Poor's 500 index, with less risk, and enjoy the ability to call the managers' cell whenever they want. But that combination of acumen and access has helped Brock Kidd become an $830,000 producer at the $5 billion-asset Pinnacle National Bank in Nashville.

Being a certified public accountant helps Rhonda Arnett in her work as a Primevest adviser at Columbia State Bank in Tacoma. It's especially helpful for the wealthy clients she now serves as a partner to private and commercial bankers.