Wealth management

Fitch Ratings Ltd. on Monday placed on rating watch-negative the "AA" insurer financial strength ratings of six U.S. insurance operating subsidiaries of ING Verzekeringen NV.

North Bridge Advisors Inc. said Friday that it had been the adviser to First MainStreet Financial Ltd. in its purchase last month of Value Quote Insurance, a Longmont, Colo., agency that specializes in group health insurance and employee benefits.

Applications for life insurance in North America declined 3.2% in September compared with the year earlier, according to the MIB Life Index released Friday by MIB Group Inc. of Westwood, Mass.

Putnam Investments said it has hired Deirdre Phillips to be a senior vice president and director of government relations.

Hedge fund asset values rose slightly in September, according to monthly data released Friday.

A small New York hedge fund company announced Friday that it has hired a portfolio manager from Goldman Sachs.

Wells Fargo & Co., selected recently to be the trustee of Health Savings Accounts offered by Blue Shield of California, sees great opportunity in the product, an executive said, particularly for its debit card and investment management businesses.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued Marsh & McLennan Cos. and arrested two American International Group Inc. executives Thursday in his first prosecution of the insurance industry.

Results from Milliman Global Inc.'s 13th annual survey of HMOs and PPOs indicate a significant increase in insurers' interest in consumer-driven health plans.

PacificSource of Springfield, Ore., has selected State Bank of Howards Grove in Wisconsin to be the trustee and administrator for its clients' health savings accounts.

Matt Mueller has joined OneBeacon Insurance Group, a Boston subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd., to lead its high-tech commercial insurance business.

The Reserve Funds, the company that launched the first money market fund, hired four executives Thursday to increase its sales through banks.

Wausau Insurance in Wausau, Wis., said that it has introduced Wausau Express, a package policy for property and general liability.

Hub International Ltd., the big Chicago insurance agency, has announced a rebranding of its operating entities under the Hub International name, which it will incorporate this month into the names of its retail subsidiaries.

MetLife Inc.'s retirement and savings unit announced Wednesday that Ibbotson Associates Advisors will make its plan sponsor investment advisory service available to small and midsize defined contribution plans that MetLife administers.

A recent flurry of hedge fund deals by banking and other financial services companies increased their stake in the alternative investment products business, and analysts said this appears a logical next step for the banking community.

Hancock Holding Co.’s first insurance agency deal would give the banking company’s long-established insurance operation greater entry into the commercial lines business, a Hancock executive said.

Evergreen Investments, the mutual fund unit of Wachovia Corp., said Tuesday that it plans a strategy change to accompany the renaming of its Evergreen Global Leaders Fund as Evergreen Global Large Cap Equity Fund on Nov. 1.