Wealth management

Next Financial Group announced Thursday that it has formed a partnership with several large managers to start a unified managed account platform exclusively for its fee-based advisers.

Fort Dearborn Life Insurance Co., a Chicago subsidiary of Health Care Service Corp., said Thursday that it had completed the purchase of HM Life Insurance Co.’s life and disability business.

(Money Management Executive)

E-Trade Financial Corp. reported Wednesday that daily average revenue trades in July were up 0.5%, to 138,367, from June and that retail client assets fell 2.2% in the month, to $176.7 billion.

The Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission announced Wednesday that it had enhanced its availability to consumers, insurers, and regulators by launching a Web site.

American General Life Insurance Co., a member company of American International Group Inc., said Wednesday that it had introduced Emerging Edge, an index annuity product.

UMB Asset Management said Wednesday that it had hired Patrick Dunkerley to be a senior vice president and midcap portfolio manager.

AIG SunAmerica Retirement Markets Inc. introduced a variable annuity rider Tuesday that offers married couples income for as long as they both live, no matter what happens in the financial markets.

American General Life Insurance Co., a Houston unit of American International Group Inc., said Tuesday that it had introduced AIG Elite Global, an indexed universal life insurance policy that offers a death benefit as well as possible cash-value accumulation based in part on the performance of three global external financial indexes.

Scottrade, a St. Louis online and branch-supported brokerage company, announced Tuesday that it will open an office in Flushing, N.Y., to cater to Chinese-speaking customers.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the industry leader in variable annuities for many years, is setting bold goals for its mutual fund business.

Lincoln Financial Group, a Philadelphia insurer, announced Monday that it had agreed to buy about 5.5 million shares of its common stock from a third-party broker-dealer using an accelerated stock repurchase program for an initial price of $350 million.

Northern Trust Corp. announced Monday that it had named Steven A. Schoenfeld chief investment officer of its global quantitative management unit.

Axa Rosenberg, the specialist global equity investment management firm within Axa's investment managers group, said Monday that it had hired Charles von Breitenbach to head North America sales and marketing.

Charles Schwab Corp. said Monday that its customers' stock trading declined 5% in July.

Piper Jaffray Cos. announced Monday that it had closed the sale of its brokerage business to UBS AG, the big Swiss banking company.

Hewitt Associates Inc., a human resources services provider, announced a quarterly loss Monday that it blamed on a noncash charge related to its human resources outsourcing businesses.

Curian Capital, a Denver-based registered investment adviser that supplies fee-based managed accounts, says it is using a broker training program to make headway in the bank distribution channel.