Wealth management

The new president of Forward Management LLC in San Francisco says he will strive to take advantage of a recent acquisition to begin distributing Forward's mutual funds and separately managed accounts through banks.

UBS AG has hired Jeffrey Mayer, a former Bear Stearns Cos. executive, as joint global head of its fixed-income, currencies, and commodities business.

Investors must become "highly selective" when it comes to how they allocate assets to commodities until the global economy recovers, according to a white paper from Bank of New York Mellon Corp.'s Boston Co. Asset Management.

FolioFN Investments Inc., a Vienna, Va., online securities company, announced that it has started offering an cash investment product that provides Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection for up to $2.3 million in individual accounts and up to $5.75 million in retirement accounts by spreading deposits over a network of 23 banks.

Axa Equitable Life Insurance Co. announced that it promoted Claude A. Methot to executive vice president of life and annuity product development.

HSBC Private Bank had hired John Babcock as a managing director for the bank and its regional manager for the Northeast and the Middle Atlantic.

Volatile market conditions have slimmed down the hedge fund industry over the past year, but industry executives continue to support a temporary ban on short-selling, and many say an industry trimming is for the best.

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Putnam Investments, a unit of Canada's Great-West Lifeco Inc., said Kevin Cronin, a senior managing director and head of investments for the Boston fund company, has resigned for personal reasons and will leave Oct. 1.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said Wednesday that it will take a $425 million charge this quarter for its support of 10 funds, six of which the company said for the first time needed help to avoid "breaking the buck" after Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index fell 2.4 points this month from August, to 70.7, the third-lowest level in its history, according to State Street Global Markets.

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Evolve Bank and Trust in Memphis has announced that it is making available to its customers the Deutsche Bank Insured Deposit Program.

OppenheimerFunds Inc. has unveiled an advertising campaign that it said makes the first major change in seven years.

Exchange-traded funds, which already have a foothold within Wells Fargo & Co.'s investment offerings, could play a bigger role in its operations soon, according to a company executive.

Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC, a Los Angeles wealth manager for individuals, families, trusts, and foundations, said Tuesday that it had hired Michael B. Miller as a managing director and Josh Markman as a vice president.

ABA Retirement Funds, a Chicago retirement plan provider for the American Bar Association, announced that Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago will provide fiduciary investment services for its retirement funds.