Wealth management

A year after a big merger made it the largest human resources outsourcing firm, Hewitt Associates Inc. says it plans to maintain its position through organic growth as the industry continues to consolidate.

Haier New York Life, the joint venture between New York Life Insurance Co. and China's Haier Group, announced the opening Tuesday of a Qingdao branch office in Shandong province, the home of Haier Group.

ADP Benefit Services, a division of Roseland, N.J.-based Automatic Data Processing, said Tuesday that it has introduced a cost-modeling tool to enhance its Web-based benefits services for health-plan customers.

Ping An Group, China's No. 2 life insurer, said on Tuesday that it plans to buy 4.25% of the mid-tier Industrial Bank. London-based HSBC Holdings PLC owns nearly one-fifth of Ping An.

Thomas J. Cook, the president of the insurance group at Cleveland's National City Corp., has been named president of the American Bankers Insurance Association for the 2005-2006 year, the Washington-based lobbying group announced.

Janus Capital Group Inc. has proposed changes in the fee structure of some of its mutual funds to reflect their performance against benchmarks.

In response to investor concern about outliving retirement assets, Pacific Life Insurance Co. in Newport Beach, Calif., said it has expanded its living benefits options to provide more choices for a guaranteed income.

Symetra Life Insurance Co. said Monday that it had introduced a work-site universal life insurance product designed for companies that want to enhance worker benefits with no required employer contribution.

AIG Valic has introduced a series of life-cycle mutual funds that are among the first to guarantee both principal and market gains achieved during the life of the investment.

First American Bank, a unit of Alabama National BanCorporation, said it has hired Joseph T. Keating to be an executive vice president, chief investment officer, and wealth management head.

Fidelity Investments said Friday that it had received a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding allegations that the Boston fund company accepted improper gifts from brokerage companies.

Barclays PLC has chosen the head of its investment banking activities in the Americas to drive the expansion of the wealth management business through Europe and beyond.

Fitch Ratings in Chicago assigned an A-minus rating Thursday to Nationwide Financial Service's proposed $200 million senior note offering and affirmed its A-minus long-term issuer rating and the ratings on all outstanding debt, with a stable outlook.

Lifestyle funds have proven more resilient than equity funds during this decade of post-bubble market malaise, and John Hancock's Lifestyle Funds have seen rapid distribution growth this year through 401(k) plans and variable annuities.

RBC Dain Rauscher Corp., the Minneapolis brokerage and financial planning arm of Royal Bank of Canada, plans to focus on lending to its clients as a means of expanding market share and meeting brokerage house competition, says John Taft, its new chief executive officer.

Wilmington Trust Corp., a Delaware-based provider of specialized management and fiduciary services to corporations worldwide, said Wednesday that it is expanding the reach of captive insurance management services, its newest offering to corporate clients.

HealthEquity Inc., a privately-held health-care company in Salt Lake City that specializes in health savings accounts in partnerships with banks among others, has announced the closing of a $6.6 million round of financing, which it said will be used for further expansion.