Wealth management

Northern Trust Global Advisors, the manager-of-managers subsidiary of Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago, has hired Joseph McInerney to be chief operating officer, and it also said it had hired three research executives.

Mellon Financial Corp. announced Tuesday that it had hired Mary E. Gooding to be a senior vice president and regional manager in its New England private banking business.

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. said Tuesday that it has reduced the cost of online option trades for domestic retail investors.

The chief investment officer of State Street Global Advisors has resigned, the asset management unit of Boston's State Street Corp. said Monday.

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. in Westerly, R.I., said Monday that it has a $26 million agreement to buy Weston Financial Group Inc., a Wellesley, Mass., registered investment adviser with $1.2 billion of assets under management.

M&T Insurance Agency Inc. says it is looking for agency deals in the parent M&T Bank’s expanding footprint in order to bolster fee income and cross-selling.

Bank of New York said Monday that its BNY Asset Management unit had been retained as the subadviser to three international funds offered by Enhanced Investment Products Ltd.

General Motors Corp. announced Monday that it has hired Nancy Everett to become the chief investment officer of General Motors Asset Management on June 1.

Serving high-net-worth advisers and managed account providers, State Street Corp.'s wealth manager services unit says it hopes to gain share by attacking the market from the top and nearer the bottom as an outsourcing trend gains momentum worldwide.

Clark Consulting, a Barrington, Ill., firm that offers compensation, benefits, and funding solutions, said Friday that it has received a subpoena from the office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Washington Mutual Inc. is shifting its investment and insurance product approach to emphasize in-branch sales, says Sandy Cavanaugh, the president of WM Financial Services.

State Street Corp.'s investment services unit says it wants to deepen its penetration of seven major European markets, raise its profile in Asia, and develop share by more cross-selling in the United States.

M&T Bank in Buffalo has changed the name of its commercial property and casualty insurance agency to harmonize with its intention to expand the agency from western New York to the bank's recently acquired markets in the Middle Atlantic states.

Fidelity Investments announced Wednesday that it is starting an investment unit to manage all its non-mutual-fund assets.

State Street Corp. says a hedge fund survey it did shows most institutional investors intend to add to their hedge fund holdings in the next three years as they strive for better risk-adjusted returns and broader diversification.

St. Paul Travelers Cos. announced the rollout Wednesday of an enhanced Select Accounts platform for small commercial insurance.

Sun Life Financial U.S. in Wellesley, Mass., said it has named Michael Conwill a vice president of finance and actuarial and Joel Prough a vice president of products in its annuities division.

Prudential Annuities, the domestic annuity business of Prudential Financial Inc. in Newark, N.J., said that it has introduced a variable annuity optional living benefit that guarantees 5% annual compounded investment growth for up to 10 years and a 5% annual withdrawal stream for life.