Wealth management

Bank representatives' productivity rose by a little less than 13% in June, to $25,361 in combined fees and commissions, up from $22,485 in May, according to the Bank Insurance and Securities Association's Monthly Productivity Report.

The majority of 401(k) participants exhibited steady savings behavior in the second quarter, but the number of loans and hardship withdrawals increased, according to data from Fidelity Investments.

Hedge funds started making money again in July, with the Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index up 2.7% over the previous month. The index was up 0.35% year to date, Morningstar said.

Chief financial officers of 20 major European insurers asked that capital rules under the European Union's planned Solvency II capital regime for insurers be more balanced.

For many investors putting money to work in hedge funds, bigger is better, leaving some smaller asset management firms with little alternative but to merge with other funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s asset management division is making changes to its North American sales staff, according to a memorandum by George Gatch, the head of the bank's Investment Management Americas unit.

Only a third of advisers have a marketing plan and only a third of that group actively implements it, according to Quantuvis, a Redlands, Calif., practice-management consulting firm owned by Genworth.

Provident Bank's wealth management group is betting that wealthy people are fed up with being nickel-and-dimed by their banks.

Forward, whose distribution channels include bank trust departments, has seen its assets under management double over the past year, to $7 billion. Driving the growth is its slate of alternative strategy funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is making management changes to its asset management unit, replacing the head of institutional sales for North America and planning to name a new head of sales for investment management for North America

Vanguard has introduced the Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund, a target-date portfolio for investors 18 to 22 years old who plan to retire in 2055 or thereabouts.

Compliance and financial reporting experts are criticizing the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's proposal for broker-dealers to cough up more detailed and frequent financial reports.

Hedge fund icon Stanley Druckenmiller is shutting his firm and ending a 30-year career after amassing one of the best long-term trading records in the industry.

Zions Bancorp. reached equity-distribution deals with Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sell up to $200 million of stock, continuing Zions' effort to raise capital.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Tuesday said it fined Merrill Lynch $500,000 for failing to offer discounts for buyers of unit investment trusts.

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The latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of fund managers found that investors are more bullish about the outlook for the global economy and corporate earnings.

Raymond James Financial has won the dismissal of a class action after the judge in the case said the complaint was too long and didn't contain enough facts.

The Tuition Plan Consortium has relaunched its Independent 529 Plan as the Private College 529 Plan, to foster prepurchasing of tuition fees at present rates.

Sales of annuities fell 7% year over year in the second quarter, dragged down by fixed annuities even as variable annuities rose 11%, according to data from Limra.