Wealth management

Comerica Inc. announced Wednesday that Curtis C. Farmer will succeed Dennis J. Mooradian as head of the wealth and institutional management division.

If past is prologue, then the retirement assets and funding levels of state and local pension plans will emerge from this recession financially healthy, according to new research by pension plan analysts.

LaCrosse Global Fund Services of London was selected to provide operations services to Primergy Capital Partners LLP.

Despite market conditions, Bank of New York Mellon Corp. says it added market share in its corporate trust business last year.

Northern Trust Corp. announced Tuesday it has promoted James D. McDonald to chief investment strategist.

Citigroup Institutional Trust Co., formerly E.F. Hutton Trust Co., has been divested from Citigroup Inc. and renamed First State Trust Co.

Hedge funds investing in emerging markets ended last year with seven consecutive months of performance declines, resulting in cumulative losses of nearly 37%, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.

Cohen & Steers Inc., a New York investment company that manages income-oriented equity portfolios, announced Monday it hired David Edlin as a senior vice president and national sales manager.

Mutual funds' 2009 sales outlook is modest, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.

Jackson National Life Insurance Co. in Lansing, Mich., a unit of Prudential PLC of London, followed its best sales year with its second-best in 2008, though sales and deposits fell 3%, to $14 billion.

BNY ConvergEx Group LLC, a Bank of New York Mellon Corp. unit that provides global agency brokerage and investment technology services, has upgraded its InterComm commission management platform.

The college savings industry has welcomed a regulatory ruling that lets 529 plan owners change their investment strategy twice a year, rather than once.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said it has promoted Troy Kilpatrick to president of its Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co.

Hedge funds posted about $74 billion of outflows last month — the second-highest amount ever — but the losses are likely to slow as the funds' assets continue to shrink, according to TrimTabs Investment Research Inc.

Barclays Global Investors of San Francisco said it has hired John Longley as head of national accounts for its iShares exchange-traded funds.

New York Life Insurance Co. announced that Ted Mathas, its president and chief executive officer, was elected chairman by its board of directors.

Americans' retirement assets declined 5.9% in the third quarter, to $15.9 trillion, even before the stock market reached a November low, according to the Investment Company Institute.