Wealth management

OppenheimerFunds Inc. announced Wednesday that it named Kurt Wolfgruber its president, a role formerly held by John V. Murphy, OppenheimerFunds' chairman and chief executive officer.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world's biggest securities firm by market value, said fiscal first-quarter profits set a record and exceeded analysts' highest estimates, on trading gains and investment-banking fees.

Millea Holdings Inc. has announced that it will set up a reinsurance company with JPMorgan Chase & Co. this month.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm, said Tuesday that it has bought 20% of D.E. Shaw group, its second purchase of a stake in a hedge fund this year.

RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to buy New Jersey-based J.B. Hanauer & Co., an employee-owned financial services company that specializes in retail fixed-income and wealth management services.

Prudential PLC, the United Kingdom's second-largest insurer, is to introduce a package of measures Thursday aimed at boosting the value of its domestic business.

Phoenix Cos. Inc. said its fixed-income investment division based in Hartford, Conn., has become a registered investment adviser under the name of Goodwin Capital Advisers Inc.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said it will report first-quarter earnings at the low end of its previous forecast, because daily average trading continued to dip last month.

Analysts and researchers appear to agree that banks wanting to invest in their wealth management divisions would do well to focus first on providing a potent product platform and then staff up.

Confidence among affluent investors rose slightly last month, according to Spectrem Group, but the data was collected before the stock market sell-off late last month.

Prudential Annuities, the domestic annuity business for Prudential Financial Inc., announced it has enhanced its Highest Daily Lifetime Five, a variable annuity optional living benefit that guarantees a 5% income stream every year for life.

John Hancock Funds, a Boston unit of Manulife Financial Corp. of Toronto, launched a mutual fund that seeks long-term growth of capital by investing most of its assets in domestic equity securities.

Prudential Annuities, the domestic annuity business for Prudential Financial Inc., announced it has enhanced its Highest Daily Lifetime Five, a variable annuity optional living benefit that guarantees a 5% income stream every year for life.

Last year U.S. individual life insurance sales rose 7%, a rate unmatched since 2000, according to a survey by Limra International Inc.

John Hancock Financial Services increased its variable annuity sales through banks by 28% in 2006 and aims to double variable sales through them every few years, the new president of its variable annuity business said.

Vanguard Group expanded its family of exchange-traded funds Thursday by introducing an international portfolio and said it plans to add bond ETFs this year.

Aim Investments Inc., a Houston wealth management unit of Amvescap PLC of London, launched a series of six target-date maturity funds.

Manulife Investments, a unit of Manulife Financial Inc., announced it surpassed $1 billion of sales in 19 weeks after introducing Canada’s first guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit annuity.