Wealth management

Banks and other financial services providers are increasingly marketing variable universal life insurance as an investment option that can address the financial needs of retirees, particularly those interested in transferring wealth, according to industry observers.

JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services, a global provider of custody and securities services, said Wednesday that Lee Munder Capital Group had chosen its outsourcing services for a separately managed accounts program.

Global Transaction Services, a unit of Citigroup Inc.'s corporate and investment banking division, said Wednesday that it had signed a definitive services agreement with Janus Capital Group for the Denver asset management company's retail separately managed accounts business.

BlackRock Inc. announced Wednesday that its adjusted earnings rose 85% in the third quarter as assets under management and fees on alternative products grew.

Merrill Lynch & Co. will continue to add financial advisers, despite concerns about the current quarter, its chief financial officer said Tuesday as the company reported record third-quarter earnings.

An investigation of Merrill Lynch & Co.’s call centers could hurt the firm’s opportunity with small investors, analysts say, but they think the company can avert serious harm.

Great-West Healthcare, a Greenwood Village, Colo., employee benefits provider, announced a pilot program Tuesday with E-Duction to offer a payroll deduction credit card for employers with consumer-driven or other high-deductible health-care plans.

SEI Investments, an Oaks, Pa., asset manager, said it had released its SEI Manager Dashboard for Separately Managed Accounts on Monday.

RBC Insurance said Monday that it had opened its second Canadian retail insurance office.

JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services announced Monday that it had been selected by Kiewit Investment Fund LLP to supply fund services.

Northern Trust Corp. announced Monday that it has agreed to provide correspondent services, including its proprietary trust accounting system, to support trust operations of three financial institutions - in Maine, Texas, and Illinois.

The St. Louis-area banking company Enterprise Financial Services says its deal for the Nashville insurance wholesaler Millennium Brokerage Group could pave the way for further wealth management deals in what it perceives as a growth market.

Ingalls Health System of Harvey, Ill., which runs Ingalls Memorial Hospital, has picked MassMutual Retirement Services of Springfield, Mass., as the new full-service provider for its retirement plans.

The mutual fund wrap program of PNC Financial Services Group's brokerage arm has multiplied its assets under management in the past two years as bank customers have turned from regulatory and market turmoil to a simpler investment product.

Just a day after announcing that it would sell its asset management business in Mexico, Bank of America Corp. said it is in talks to sell its banking operations in Argentina.

An American International Group unit has introduced its first fixed annuity for group retirement plans.

A third of baby boomers are worried about retirement, up from 19% four years ago, according to a survey for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp., the Clayton, Mo., parent of Enterprise Bank and Trust, said Thursday that it had agreed to buy the Nashville life insurance firm Millennium Brokerage Group.