Wealth management

Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced Monday that it has introduced electronic foreign exchange options trading for institutional and corporate clients.

John Y. Kim, an executive vice president of New York Life Insurance Co., is to succeed Gary Wendlandt as chairman of its investments unit on Jan. 1.

KeyBanc Capital Markets' plans for the new year include hiring a wide range of dealmakers as part of an ongoing effort to capture more middle-market clients.

Bill Gross' Pimco Total Return Fund, the world's largest mutual fund, was the second-biggest decliner among the largest U.S. bond managers in the past month as clients pulled money for the first time in two years amid a sell-off in Treasuries.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which makes the most from equity trading of all Wall Street banks, is losing the head of a unit that invests in securities exchanges and two senior executives from its London equities division.

The Investment Company Institute has hired two executives on its government affairs team and promoted another person in the group.

Citi Fund Services Ohio plans to add 300 positions to its Columbus, Ohio, operations over the next three years. The center currently employs 715 people.

Long-term mutual fund inflows for the week that ended Dec. 1 totaled $1.04 billion, the Investment Company Institute said. This reverses outflows in the previous two weeks.

Individuals aren't as interested in Roth conversions as many advisers expected. According to a Mercer survey, more than half of employers said that their employees hadn't asked for the option, and 45% said they had no plans to offer it.

Thirteen percent of affluent Americans closed at least one investment account in the last year, more than double the pace in the previous five years, a report says.

According to a study by Aon Hewitt, Generation Y workers can expect stagnant wages, job insecurity and a steady decline in pension plan and retiree medical benefits.

Jerome Dodson at Parnassus Investments says growing public pessimism about the economy in 2010 persuaded him to buy stocks.

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New York Life Investments has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Private Advisors LLC, a fund of hedge funds manager in Richmond, Va.

Dynasty Financial Partners of New York has hired Michael C. Brown as a partner and director of wealth management.

The brokerage firm Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. of St. Louis has extended its reach to North Carolina with a branch opening and the appointment of Steven R. Perry as the branch's manager and vice president of investments.

The private-equity giant Carlyle Group agreed to acquire a majority stake in a Claren Road Asset Management, a $4.5 billion long-short hedge fund.

The average immediate annuity premium is $107,000, and 90% of policyholders purchase additional riders that either keep payments flowing to heirs, or that return the balance of the contract to heirs, if the contract holder dies unexpectedly early, according to Limra research.

PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc. has tapped into substantial demand for third-party marketing services among banks and credit unions that want temporary solutions or want to limit their level of commitment.