Wealth management

The French bank Societe Generale said Tuesday that it is sticking to plans for an initial public offering of its U.S. asset management unit, TCW Group, in the next five years.

Akito Fund, a Japan-focused hedge fund set up by former UBS AG bankers, has returned 14% since its July start, beating benchmarks on investments in smaller companies including Geo Corp. and Yellow Hat Ltd.

Giant bond fund manager Bill Gross said the global economy is on its way to a new "normal" as delevering, deglobalization and reregulation take hold in the wake of the global financial turmoil.

Listening to Bryce Carr discuss his doubts about Emprise Bank's new advertising campaign for its wealth management services, one gets an old-school feeling about how business gets done in his market.

Mutual funds, pensions and endowments are unloading U.S. consumer stocks at the fastest pace in at least 14 years.

Third Avenue Management Inc. has launched its first debt fund, which will invest in a concentrated portfolio across the credit spectrum.

U.S. life insurance sales to individuals dropped 20% in the second quarter as savers shunned investments linked to stocks, contributing to the biggest six-month decline since 1942.

Mauricio Noe, formerly head of covered bonds at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, has left the company and will join Deutsche Bank AG later this year, people familiar with the situation said.

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Scout Investment Advisors Inc., a unit of UMB Financial Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., has hired Benjamin Wiesenfeld to be its chief compliance officer and chief legal counsel.

FBR Capital Markets Corp. started a prime brokerage to be run by a team hired from Shoreline Trading Group, a prime brokerage for hedge funds.

Janus Capital Group announced Friday that Dominic Martellaro, the managing director of its Janus Global Advisors unit, will step down Oct. 31.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC may sell part of its fund management business, including a possible initial public offering of Scottish Widows, to raise cash after its bailout, two people familiar with the talks said.

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BlackRock Inc. made a big splash in the exchange-traded funds business this summer with its purchase of the investment unit of Barclays Global Investors, and analysts and executives are waiting for the next shoe to drop.

John Hancock Funds is betting that its money management clients are ready for Bollinger bands, moving average convergence/divergence and the Relative Strength Index.

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WSFS Financial Corp. in Wilmington, Del., announced that it has promoted Deborah A. Markwood to senior vice president and director of trust services.

To improve retention and attract younger customers, MetLife Inc. has introduced an online platform to offer financial advice to investors who make a minimum investment of $10,000.