Wealth management

Before the bottom fell out of the markets last year, most asset management firms thought they had robust risk management processes in place. Now they're not so sure.

Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., the securities brokerage, trust and asset management arm of Regions Financial Corp., has announced the hiring of John P. Ockerbloom as a managing director and head of its real estate and lodging investment banking group.

Barclays Capital, Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group were said Tuesday to have committed $2 billion in financing for BlackRock Inc.'s purchase of the Barclays Global Investors business.

Two asset management veterans have announced plans to start hedge funds with at least $500 million of assets, and six other new funds are expected to raise more than $250 million each, according to brokers who provide credit and lend securities to managers.

Lincoln National Corp., which has announced two rounds of job cuts this year, plans to raise $2.05 billion by accepting federal rescue funds and selling shares and debt to private investors.

Rich investors are paralyzed because they are concerned markets may decline further, a survey by Barclays PLC's private banking unit suggests.

John Hancock Financial Services says it hopes to broaden the appeal of variable annuities by making them less like the complicated insurance products they've been and more like mutual funds.

Prudential Annuities, the domestic annuity business of Prudential Financial Inc. of Newark, N.J., hired Quincy Krosby as chief market strategist, a newly created position.

Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc. plans to buy more insurance brokerages as part of its strategy to develop new business in the West.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. of Omaha has completed its acquisition of the brokerage thinkorswim Group Inc. of Chicago.

Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management has hired four managing directors for its U.S. private wealth management group.

Lincoln Financial Distributors, the intermediary distribution arm of Lincoln Financial Group of Philadelphia, has hired Thomas P. O'Neill to be its chief operating officer.

Bank of Montreal announced an agreement to buy the retirement record-keeping business of Integra GRS, a group retirement services unit of Integra Capital Management Corp. of Ontario.

Mutual funds had little to boast about in 2008, but this year they had recovered most of their losses for the year by May.

Matthew Weitzman, a former principal of AFW Wealth Advisers, was arrested and charged with stealing $6 million from clients.

It's gut-check time at State Street Corp. and Vanguard Group.

City National Corp. in Los Angeles announced Tuesday that it had agreed to buy a majority stake in Lee Munder Capital Group, a Boston investment firm that manages assets for corporations, pensions, endowments and affluent households.

Evercore Wealth Management in New York has announced the opening of a San Francisco office and addition of four partners and a senior adviser who will be based in the office.