Wealth management

UnionBanCal Corp., the holding company for San Francisco-based Union Bank of California, said it had hired Michael A. Janes to be the chief executive officer of its insurance subsidiary, UnionBanc Insurance Services Inc.

Experts project that by 2010 only 36% of employers with more than 1,000 employees will offer defined benefit pensions, down from 55% today, according to a study released Thursday by Diversified Investment Advisors, a retirement plan provider in Purchase, N.Y.

ConnectYourCare, a Baltimore consumer-directed health-care company, said Thursday that it had teamed up with PFPC Inc., a securities-processing subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., to offer banks and investment companies an administrative platform for health savings accounts.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Bank-owned investment management firms have blamed their recently sluggish growth on a changing regulatory environment and challenging yield curve, but executives at the Bank Insurance and Securities Association conference here said investment units that aren’t growing should begin better leveraging their parent banks.

Donating to charity is woven into both the budgets and financial plans of most affluent households, says a study released Thursday by Chicago's Northern Trust Corp., and nearly half plan to increase their charitable giving this year.

Tompkins Trustco Inc. in Ithaca, N.Y., said Thursday that it had added an insurance agency in Trumansburg, N.Y., to its Tompkins Insurance Agencies subsidiary.

HSBC Private Bank, a division of HSBC Bank USA, said Wednesday that it had hired Marlon Young to lead its U.S. expansion efforts as a managing director and head of U.S. domestic private banking.

Coventry Capital in Fort Washington, Pa., announced an innovation Wednesday that makes premium financing available to owners of existing life insurance policies.

Raymond James Financial Inc. says its recent adoption of SunGard Data Systems Inc.'s financial planning platform will help it compete by making it easier to tailor service to clients' individual needs.

Western and Southern Financial Group said Wednesday that Touchstone Advisors Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, has closed the purchase of Constellation Investment Management Co. LP, bringing its assets under management to $7.5 billion.

Prudential Financial Inc. said Wednesday that it had agreed to buy Allstate Financial's variable annuity business for an initial investment it valued at $560 million.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Banks are in position to gather much of the $20 trillion expected to flow from retirement plans in the next 20 years, but only a few are well prepared to do so, experts and bank executives say.

Lincoln Financial Distributors, the wholesaling arm of Lincoln Financial Group, said Tuesday that it had launched a customer relationship management application for use on its wholesalers' BlackBerry devices and a Web portal.

New York Life International, the global arm of New York Life Insurance Co., said Monday that it had hired a former Manulife Financial Corp. executive, John Harrison, to be its chief executive officer for Asia.

Retirement plan providers are increasingly introducing defined benefit features in their defined contribution offerings, vendors and analysts say.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners said Monday that its life insurance and annuities committee had adopted revisions in its model regulation for annuity sales to senior citizens to expand its protections to all consumers, not just those older than 65.

A 65-year-old couple retiring today will need $200,000 to cover medical costs in retirement - a 5.3% increase from the estimate last year of $190,000 - according to a survey released Monday by Fidelity Investments.

AmeriServ Financial Inc., a Johnstown, Pa., community bank, announced Friday that it would close its investment advisory subsidiary, AmeriServ Associates Inc., in order to focus on traditional banking services.