Wealth management

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., a New York investment banking and brokerage, said Monday that it had appointed Peter E. Roth chief executive officer of its asset management business.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh has increased the assets in its private banking business with new leadership, a new name, an enhanced sales-oriented culture, and more cross-selling.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Hong Kong for dialogue and information exchange.

Bank of New York announced Monday that it had begun an advertising campaign to help drive growth in its private banking business.

Security Federal Corp. in Aiken, S.C., said Monday that it had signed a letter of intent to buy Collier Jennings Financial Corp. and merge its agency units into its Security Federal Insurance Inc.

A class action has been filed in a federal court in New York against American International Group Inc. and a subsidiary that sold NationsFunds mutual funds found last year by NASD to have received preferential treatment in exchange for directed brokerage, according to the Schiffrin & Barroway LLP law firm in Radnor, Pa.

A.M. Best Co. assigned a debt rating of aa-plus Friday to a funding-agreement-backed securities program established by Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada (U.S.), the Wilmington, Del., unit of the Toronto insurer.

Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc.’s purchase Friday of 80% of a Boston separately managed account provider puts the company for the first time into manufacturing these products — and into conflict with an industry trend toward separating investment product distribution from manufacturing.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. launched a single-premium deferred variable annuity Thursday.

Wachovia Corp. announced Thursday that it had closed its purchase of Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s defined contribution record keeping business.

Boston Co. Asset Management LLC, a unit of Mellon Financial Corp., said Thursday that it had named David Cameron chief investment officer.

E-Trade's recent acquisitions of investment advisory firms, including a deal announced this week, are giving it access to a wealthy market segment and helping to further evolve its product and service offerings.

JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase Bank that provides custody and securities services, announced Wednesday that Charles Schwab Investment Management had chosen it to administer separately managed accounts in Schwab's $180 billion portfolio of client assets.

AI Risk, a unit of American International Group Inc., said Wednesday that it had started AI Risk Education Program, a multiline property and casualty program for private primary schools, colleges, and universities.

Northern Trust Corp. said Wednesday that it had been selected by the Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System to be custodian for $6.5 billion of assets.

WASHINGTON - Even as traditional pension plans decline in importance, 401(k) programs are taking on many of the automatic features that are typical of defined benefit plans, especially as a means of dealing with low participation rates.

E-Trade Financial Corp. has announced plans to buy Retirement Advisors of America, a Dallas registered investment adviser, as part of a region-by-region expansion strategy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that 15 brokerage firms had agreed to pay a combined $13 million to settle charges of violations in the auction rate securities market for municipal and corporate bonds.

Bank of New York Co. Inc. announced the appointment Wednesday of Richard F. Brueckner, the chief executive officer of its Pershing LLC unit, to be a senior executive vice president of the parent.