Wealth management

Citigroup Inc. has announced the hiring of Deborah Doyle McWhinney to head its personal wealth management division, which includes the U.S. network of Citibank branch-based advisers and other financial planning and wealth management services.

U.S. institutional investment plan sponsors reported a sixth straight quarter of losses in the first quarter but ended the period on a positive note, according to data from Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago.

After eight years at Smith Barney, William Meyer and Marcy LePrell had had enough.

The phrase "be careful what you wish for" has probably never rung truer for Morgan Stanley.

After reporting disappointing first-quarter results, top executives at the two largest custody banks tried to remain positive but realistic about this year and next year.

Northern Trust Corp. said Tuesday that its first-quarter net income fell 58%, partly by comparison with a large, one-time gain a year earlier.

BlackRock Inc.'s first-quarter net income slid 65% as a battered global equity market continued to shrink assets under management.

Regulation of money market funds is an area receiving a lot of attention in current discussions over financial restructuring.

With a difficult 2008 behind it, UBS AG's New York private wealth management unit is plowing ahead with its program of opening more U.S. offices, according to John Straus, the head of the unit and the chairman of its UBS Private Bank.

Given strong demand for retirement products that offer downside protection and growth potential, target-date funds and annuities would seem a great match.

American International Group Inc. said Thursday that it has completed the sale of AIG Private Bank Ltd. to a subsidiary of Aabar Investments PJSC, an Abu Dhabi investment company.

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.