Wealth management

Seven broker-dealers settled allegations with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday that they had failed to disclose they were paid for providing research coverage of certain public companies.

A Lipper Inc. analysis of redemption rates in the mutual funds underlying insurers' variable annuities has found suggestively high turnover rates in funds used by many major companies, some of them already known to be under regulatory scrutiny.

Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management, a unit of Amvescap PLC, announced the hiring of Alan S. Fields and Jeffrey E. Anthony to be managing directors.

Gabelli Asset Management Inc. has promoted Douglas Jamieson to the new post of president and chief operating officer.

Affiliated Managers Group Inc., a holding company for investment management firms, announced Tuesday that it will introduce a platform to sell and service mutual funds and other investment products.

American International Group Inc. said Tuesday that it has entered an auction to buy a small, unlisted South Korean insurance company.

Northern Trust Corp. has hired Claire Steele to be a senior relationship manager in its European multinational pension fund team.

Sentinel Funds said Tuesday that it has introduced a mid-cap portfolio to invest in the common stocks of midsize companies.

State Street Global Alliance announced a definitive agreement Tuesday to buy a minority interest in GovernanceMetrics International.

Lawsuits challenging the registration statement in connection with the merger that created St. Paul Travelers Cos. Inc. should have little long-term impact, analysts say, but do highlight a credibility problem for the company.

Bank of America Corp. has changed its tune about commercial insurance since its FleetBoston Financial Corp. deal brought it a $114 million-revenue insurance unit with commercial lines operations in six states.

Philip N. Russo, a financial services executive with more than 20 years' experience, was named chief financial officer of Delaware Investments Monday.

Alliance Financial Corp. says a long-considered plan to buy part of HSBC Bank USA's personal trust business in upstate New York is a way for it to expand its high-net-worth business and diversify its income.

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. and financial advice provider GuidedChoice announced Thursday that they have provided customized advice to participants in more than 100 plans administered by Schwab Retirement Plan Services Inc.

NASD has, for the first time, suspended the authority of a regulated firm to open mutual fund accounts for new clients - imposing the 30-day penalty on National Securities Corp. of Seattle in connection with its alleged tolerance of market timing in mutual funds.

Jackson National Life reported variable annuity sales through banks rose in the first six months of 2004 and though fixed sales fell from the year earlier they were up compared with more recent results.

Acordia Inc., the big insurance brokerage owned by Wells Fargo & Co., said Wednesday that it has hired Dean Rosencrans to be a vice president and the business development officer for its central region.