Wealth management

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.

Fidelity Investments says that 55 "breakaway brokers," bringing more than $7 billion of assets, have chosen the Boston fund company during the year's first half to be custodian for their newly established independent registered investment advisory firms, more than doubling the assets gained from this source throughout 2007.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. promoted Brian O'Connell, the chief information officer for its life operations, to the newly created position of senior vice president and chief information officer for the company.

Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc. hired Clay D.W. Stafford as an account executive in its broker-dealer unit, ABD Financial Services Inc.

U.S. Retirement Partners, an Iselin, N.J., 403(b) benefits administrator, has purchased ClearCreek Financial Group, a Hudson, Ohio, financial consulting firm.

A wealth executive at a Tacoma, Wash., banking company said he has begun recruiting financial advisers from the troubled Washington Mutual Inc., and a Boston financial services company says one of its Seattle-area unit has picked up clients from Wamu.