Wealth management

Effectively marrying the specialization of a boutique firm with the scale and profitability of a larger organization, multi-affiliated asset managers are taking on an increasingly visible role in the money management industry.

Confidence among millionaires fell last month as gasoline prices rose sharply, according to Spectrem Group.

John Hancock is offering a new survivorship universal life insurance policy.

American General Life Insurance Co. has a new variable universal life insurance policy.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management announced Wednesday that it had promoted Stu Bohart to run its alternative investments.

Federated Investors Inc. selected a Citigroup Inc. unit to be the service provider for its retail separately managed account business.

Axa Financial remains an opportunistic acquirer and could handle a big purchase like its Mony Group Inc. deal two years ago, but plans to generate much of its growth organically via a strategy of "starving the losers and feeding the winners," its top executive says.

A group Legg Mason Inc. acquired from Citigroup Inc. in December is the foundation of a new asset management subsidiary called ClearBridge Advisors.

Some large banking companies are beginning to look to third-party managers in order to offer unified managed accounts, a vendor says.

Bancinsurance Corp. of Columbus, Ohio, which had a $500 net loss in the year-earlier period, reported a first-quarter profit of $1.5 million Monday.

Banks will not gain a lot of assets as the mass affluent put more money into their retirement savings and stock portfolios, a survey concludes.

Coventry Health Care Inc. in Bethesda, Md., reported strong first-quarter earnings Friday on growth in premiums.

Consumers are apparently investing in variable annuities again, and sales of the product, which were slow last year, were a highlight of MetLife Inc.’s first-quarter earnings report.

Sun Life Financial U.S. plans to introduce a living benefit rider in its variable annuity lineup today as part of a strategy to gather assets by selling to customers nearing retirement.

U.S. equity funds had $2.11 billion of inflows in the week through April 26, according to data released Friday by AMG Data Services.

The first exchange-traded fund targeting silver began trading on the American Stock Exchange Friday.

Brandywine Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Legg Mason Inc., has announced that, effective today, it will formally change its name to Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC and relocate its offices.

Sun Life Financial U.S. plans to introduce a living benefit rider in its variable annuity lineup today as part of a strategy to gather assets by selling to customers nearing retirement.

Global Transaction Services, a business unit of Citigroup Inc.’s corporate and investment banking operation, and CitiStreet announced Thursday that they have allied to market and distribute Citibank’s health savings account product.