Wealth management

Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to buy Rogers & Belding Insurance Agency Inc., a single-office agency in El Paso, and its subsidiaries.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp., which has said since its formation that it wants to expand internationally, announced Tuesday it is acquiring a Brazilian asset manager, Arx Capital Management.

Fidelity Investments said client assets in its brokerage business grew 24%, to $1.96 trillion, at Sept. 30.

Financial advisers' productivity is better at bank brokerages with cutting-edge technology than at those that are not state-of-the-art, but some technology may actually be counterproductive, a report says.

Spectrem Group said its Millionaire Investor Index increased 11 points last month, to 14, returning to mildly bullish territory for the first time since July.

Several recent transactions by private-equity investors, such as the HSH Nordbank deal led by the J.C. Flowers Fund and the Doral Financial Corp. deal led by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, highlight the newly discovered interest of private investors in federally and state-regulated financial institutions.

While predicting housing market losses will continue through next year, executives at American International Group Inc. said it has no plans to abandon its mortgage-related investments, even though losses in that area played a major role in the company's third-quarter profit decline.

Money Management Executive

Amid Bank of America Corp.'s high-profile integration of U.S. Trust Corp. this year, a quiet restructuring is taking place within the Charlotte company in which alternative investments are taking on a leading role.

BB&T Corp.'s wealth management division plans to develop new business by targeting mass-affluent investors.

Executives at PFPC Worldwide Inc. said they expect the pending acquisition of a New Jersey data aggregator to turn the PNC Financial Services Group Inc. unit into a more extensive resource for advisers.

Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Asset Management Inc. has added the RBC Premium U.S. Money Market Fund for investors with large U.S. dollar balances looking for liquidity at a lower price than traditional U.S. dollar money market funds, and better returns than savings accounts.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has agreed to buy Albridge Solutions Inc., a Lawrenceville, N.J., provider of portfolio accounting and enterprise wealth management services.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an Itasca, Ill., insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, has bought Cedar Hill Insurance Agency Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. The purchase was announced Wednesday. The price was not disclosed.

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Strong results from its international businesses enabled MetLife Inc. to limit its losses in a mediocre third quarter.

New York Life Insurance Co. said it has put Paul Pasteris, a senior vice president, in charge of its special markets businesses.