Wealth management

Commerce Capital Markets Inc., the full-service brokerage subsidiary of Commerce Bancorp Inc., announced Friday that Marc A. Sieben had joined it as the head of brokerage and wealth management.

St. Paul Travelers Cos.' debt rating outlook was revised to positive, from stable, by Standard & Poor's, the New York rating agency which pointed Thursday to the insurer's improved operating performance.

Symetra Life Insurance Co. introduced an annuity Thursday for a retirement planning model intended to reduce the danger of outliving one's savings.

The transaction services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers said Thursday that Richard L. Bennett Jr. had joined the firm's insurance risk management solutions practice as a director.

Banks have lost ground in life insurance sales this year as overall demand for the product fell, according to Kenneth Kehrer Associates.

Bank of America Corp.'s global wealth and investment management unit has named Thong Nguyen to head its private advisory services.

Calamos Asset Management Inc. said it had hired an executive from UBS Investment Bank to increase distribution through financial advisers and other channels.

PNC Advisors, a unit of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., made three senior management promotions Tuesday.

St. Paul Travelers announced Tuesday that it had expanded its reach for business from architects and engineers to include construction and design consultants.

Fitch said it had assigned an "A" rating to Prudential Financial Inc.'s $2 billion issuance of senior convertible notes due November 2035.

The Smith Barney subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. has hired a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive to be chief financial officer of its global private-client group.

Most owners of separately managed accounts have a solid understanding of the product and expect to increase their commitment to it during the next year, according to research by the Citigroup Asset Management unit of Citigroup Inc.

ING Group NV has introduced a living benefit rider that guarantees lifetime retirement income with investment flexibility.

Comerica Inc. says it plans to aggressively expand its retirement services unit by hiring, increasing distribution, and moving to an open architecture platform.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said it had introduced an educational program designed to help financial professionals, plan sponsors, and retirement plan participants prepare for the availability of Roth 401(k)s.

Assets held in separately managed accounts grew steadily in the third quarter, and banks continued to expand their share of the market.