Wealth management

The Atlanta credit bureau Equifax Inc. and the McLean, Va., wealth analysis company IXI Corp. have developed a way for financial institutions to examine not just how deep customers' pockets are, but also how likely they are to actually spend their money.

Investment bank Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group Inc.'s offer to buy Cowen Group Inc. for about $100 million was rejected Monday.

Federated Investors Inc. of Pittsburgh said it has completed its acquisition of Clover Capital Management Inc. of Rochester, N.Y., to run its traditional value products.

Beacon Trust Co. of Madison, N.J., said it has acquired Clear Asset Management Inc. of New York.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reversed some of its previous cuts to its full-year earnings outlook and said its businesses were performing well.

American Century Investments has been hammered by the market downturn but is positioning itself for brisk growth at home and abroad, according to its top executive.

Legg Mason Inc. of Baltimore announced plans Friday to cut about 200 jobs, or 8% of its work force, as it seeks to reduce annual expenses by $120 million.

ING Group NV said it has realigned its U.S. wealth management business.

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Difficult market conditions have hammered variable annuities, but fixed annuities have held their own as investors have looked for products with a guaranteed return, industry analysts say.

PNC Global Investment Servicing, a Wilmington, Del., unit of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. of Pittsburgh, promoted Nancy B. Wolcott to president.

WisdomTree, a provider of exchange-traded funds, has launched the WisdomTree LargeCap Growth Fund on the NYSE Arca.

Prudential Financial Inc. said it plans to sell its minority stake in Wachovia Securities to Wells Fargo & Co. and seek cash from the Treasury Department's rescue fund to rebuild capital.

Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. has elected Keith Meyers as managing director.

Gibraltar Private Bank and Trust Co. of Coral Gables, Fla., promoted David Viera to senior vice president and Ricardo Garbati to vice president.

Confidence among affluent and millionaire investors sunk further in November, according to Spectrem Group.

Putnam Investments has hired two executives from Fidelity Investments: Clare Richer as a senior managing director and chief financial officer and Andra Bolotin as managing director and controller.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Monday that it will promote Robert J. Casale, a senior vice president and its deputy chief information officer, to chief information officer Jan. 1.

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. said Monday that it has promoted Brett Collins to managing director for its financial planning offices in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.