Wealth management

Larry Roth, the chief executive of AIG Advisor Group, has a hefty task ahead as he looks to rebuild the beleaguered unit that American International Group Inc. chose not to divest in August.

UBS AG announced that it has hired former Merrill Lynch & Co. executive Robert J. McCann as the head of wealth management in the Americas.

Franklin Resources Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 22% amid investment gains and as assets under management increased.

The number of retirement savers putting money into 401(k) plans increased even as the stock market was in shambles and the economy weakened, according to Charles Schwab Corp. data issued Tuesday.

James Lockhart, vice chairman of WL Ross & Co., said he is seeing "significant desire" for private-equity capital from small and midsize banks that did not get federal aid.

U.S. institutional investment plan sponsors posted a second consecutive quarter of strong gains, according to data released by Northern Trust Corp.

CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services has completed the acquisition of the unitholder record keeping and fund administration business of Felcom Data Services.

Raymond James Financial Inc. is closing in on approval of a charter switch that it hopes will let it make more loans.

Fifth Third Bancorp is enjoying growth in its health savings account business after improving its product and expanding its staff. At Sept. 30, the Cincinnati banking company had nearly 55,000 health savings accounts with about $76 million in balances; that was 42% growth in accounts and 28% growth in deposits from a year earlier.

Bank of America Corp. wants to remind everyone that Merrill Lynch & Co. is more than just a sideshow. Trying to move beyond the lawsuits and congressional hearings, Bank of America will finally start using Merrill Lynch & Co. for what it intended when the Charlotte company bought the beleaguered investment bank in January — to develop wealth management products.

Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Irish unit was fined $4.14 million by the country's financial watchdog after it found that traders failed to appropriately value their positions on transactions that lost the company $461 million.

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Fidelity Investments has introduced an online platform for retail investors, broker-dealers and advisers to trade international stocks and exchange foreign currencies.

Russia's Federal Customs Service dropped its $22.5 billion claim against Bank of New York Mellon Corp. on Thursday, ending a two-year legal battle that highlighted the shortcomings of the Russian legal system.

Legg Mason Inc. posted a quarterly profit, reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings above expectations as it deals with sharp declines in year-over-year asset levels.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. swung to a third-quarter profit as the provider of financial planning services posted sharply higher revenue and net investment income.

Logue, 64, has worked for the Boston company for almost two decades. He will continue to serve as non-executive chairman of State Street's board of directors until Jan. 1, 2011.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's European head of wealth management, Eva Castillo, will leave the firm at yearend.

Pacific Investment Management Co., the world's largest bond manager, is considering starting a stock fund unit for the first time in its 38-year history as it expands its lineup of products, a person familiar with the firm's plans said.

Lighter-than-anticipated trading hampered results at custody banks in the third quarter and is tempering expectations of a quick recovery.