Wealth management

Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., BB&T Corp., and other banking companies increased their insurance brokerage revenue last year, despite market conditions and dwindling fees, by buying businesses in areas where they had little exposure and pushing ahead with cross-selling efforts, a study finds.

Nationwide Financial, a Columbus, Ohio, investment manager, opened a Web site Monday to give investment professionals resources to help advisers develop retirement plan business.

Rydex Investments, a Chicago investment manager, introduced an alternative-investment fund of funds on Monday.

A mentoring program in which brokers coach small teams of licensed bankers helps explain Compass Bank's retail brokerage sales growth of about 20% in each of the past three years, according to the brokerage unit's head.

Union Bank of California, a subsidiary of San Francisco's UnionBanCal Corp., says the recent realignment of its wealth management business is meant to prompt double-digit growth of assets under management.

Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon Corp., introduced a financial product that provides a lifetime income guarantee for managed assets.

Charles Schwab Corp. began offering a program fee rebate on its managed mutual fund portfolios, Schwab Managed Portfolios, to investors who put $25,000 or more of assets into a new or existing retirement account.

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more increased only 2% last year, to 9.2 million, according to a report Spectrem Group released Wednesday.

Union Bank of California, a subsidiary of San Francisco's UnionBanCal Corp., said Thursday that its wealth management business is now part of its global markets group, which also includes the bank's asset management and brokerage units.

After a year of record growth, Hartford Financial Services Inc. wants to expand its 529 college savings business over the next two years by increasing sales and perhaps by becoming a plan sponsor in another state.

Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, a Lansing, Mich., distribution arm of Prudential PLC of London, said Wednesday that it has promoted Rob Butler to central regional director for its registered and guaranteed channels.

American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo., hired Joseph P. Craven as a senior vice president of its institutional business.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. expanded its mutual fund lineup for retirees by introducing a group of three funds designed to help people plan for income needs.

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Bank of America Corp. has its hands full keeping customers happy as it completes its integration of U.S. Trust Corp. this year, but the Charlotte company remains optimistic and has managed to retain a majority of the clients inherited in the acquisition.

Axa Equitable ranked first in variable annuity sales growth last year, with 20.2%, and its market share rose 4.1% from a year earlier, according to a Morningstar Inc. distribution report.

National Planning Holdings Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif., unit of Prudential PLC that operates a network of independent broker-dealers, has hired Erik Feldman as a vice president of practice management.

Northern Trust Corp. has promoted Jon Dunham to head of North America asset servicing sales.