Wealth management

Institutional investors often do not take full advantage of exchange-traded funds, according to a study released Monday by State Street Corp., one of the largest providers of ETFs in the world.

With its typically strong December, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund reported a 4.8% increase in contributions last year, the Boston fund firm announced Monday.

WisdomTree Investments has introduced the WisdomTree International Hedge Equity Fund, an exchange-traded fund of funds.

BlackRock has thrown a new type of product into the mix in the rapidly evolving municipal bond exchange-traded fund industry.

As many variable annuity providers simplify and streamline their products, Axa Equitable Life Insurance Co. in New York is bundling theirs.

Global standards should be developed to determine the amount of capital that insurance companies and securities firms must hold against potential market losses, in the same way they have been for banks, regulators for the banking, insurance and securities sectors said in a report Friday.

Last week New York Life launched a print advertising campaign that highlights the financial benefits and long-term guarantees of its whole-life insurance product.

SunTrust Banks Inc. plans to aggressively expand its unit providing private banking services to professional athletes and musicians.

Charles Schwab Corp. is reducing its trading commissions and unveiled new portfolios of exchange-trade funds available through a fee-based advisory program.

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Janus Capital Group Inc. announced Thursday that it has hired Richard M. Weil, the chief operating officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC, to be its chief executive officer.

Confidence among affluent investors rose in December but continues to lag levels of a few years ago, a survey found.

After losing one-quarter of their value, on average, during 2008, and sending ripples of outrage and cries for regulation through Washington, target-date funds bounced back in 2009, making up much of their steep losses.

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC is in the final stage of talks to buy parts of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's asset management division, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, after other bidders, including Schroders PLC, dropped out of the process for the whole division.

One of Morgan Stanley's most senior investment bankers in London quit just days after Chief Executive James Gorman took the reins at the firm.

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Chautauqua Capital Management announced Wednesday that it hired John F. Lynch as its chief operating officer.

Vanguard Group announced it will pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing it of racial bias in its hiring practices.

December brought an unexpected uptick in adviser movement after months of little action.

Armed with its new name, RBC Global Asset Management is expecting double-digit growth in 2010, as it works more closely with its parent bank and other RBC asset managers to introduce new products.