Wealth management

MBL Advisors Holdings LLC bought most of the assets of Barry, Evans, Josephs & Snipes Inc., an insurance advisory firm that provides large-scale wealth transfer plans for high-net-worth individuals and corporate and executive benefit plans, from Wells Fargo & Co.

The insurer American International Group Inc., which is being pressured by the government to divest assets, announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell its personal auto insurance unit to a rival, Zurich Financial Services AG, for $1.9 billion.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Fifth Third Bancorp's securities unit $1.75 million for violations related to variable annuity sales and exchanges.

The number of participants and average account balances are the primary drivers of fees in 401(k) and defined contribution retirement plans, the Investment Company Institute and Deloitte & Touche found in a study released Tuesday.

Piper Jaffray Cos. said Wednesday that its first-quarter net loss increased 92.9% from a year earlier, to $2.7 million, or 17 cents a share.

Jefferies & Co. Inc., a unit of Jefferies Group Inc., has announced the hiring of A. Markman Peters as a managing director and head of its wealth management group.

American Beacon Advisors Inc., a Fort Worth asset management unit of Lighthouse Holdings Inc., said E. Stanley O'Neal, the former chairman, president and chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co., has joined its board of directors.

Putnam Investments' top executive said its hiring of Walter C. Donovan as chief investment officer signals its commitment to turning around its performance after years of outflows.

Morgan Stanley said Monday that it has selected the executive committee, including the wealth management heads, for its pending joint venture with Citigroup Inc.'s Smith Barney that is expected to start this summer.

ETF Portfolio Management, an absolute return manager, has a new investment platform that combines active absolute return strategies with core portfolios.

Putnam Investments announced Monday that it has hired Walter C. Donovan as its chief investment officer.

As mutual fund assets continue to decline and investors migrate to low-cost products, fund companies are struggling to make their management fees stretch even farther.

Since debuting about a year ago, exchange-traded funds that are actively managed have gotten off to a slow start.

For more information on this data, visit Novantas LLC and Market Rates Insight.

GenSpring Family Offices, SunTrust Banks Inc.'s wealth management unit for ultra-wealthy families, plans to develop a national family-office network that eventually it can expand overseas.

Curian Capital LLC, a Denver registered investment advisory unit of London's Prudential PLC, said it has expanded its custom style portfolios with the addition of the Curian Tactical Advantage Strategy.

New York Life Insurance Co. promoted Michael Gallo to senior vice president in charge of its long-term-care operation.

401kDirect Inc., a provider of retirement plan administrative services for advisers, third-party administrators and plan sponsors, has launched an exchange-traded fund platform for retirement accounts.

Health savings accounts' popularity is growing, but their complexity is hindering their broader use as a tax-deferred investment vehicle.