Deals & People
The Hartford Creates New Position to Lead Mutual Fund, 529 Efforts
The Hartford has tapped Keith Sloane, a 23-year investment industry veteran, for the newly created position of senior vice president to lead the company’s mutual fund and 529 college savings businesses.
Reported by PLANADVISER Staff
The addition of Sloane will help The Hartford drive continued growth, senior executives say. Sloane has spent his entire career in a variety of retail investment product and marketing roles. He joins The Hartford’s Retail Products Group team after spending 12 years at Wachovia Securities where he was most recently Managing Director of Product Marketing.
At Wachovia, Sloane led the mutual fund business as well as marketing and product efforts for a wide range of financial products, including 529 college savings plans, according to a press release from the Hartford. Prior to joining Wachovia Securities, Sloane held leadership positions at PaineWebber for eleven years.
“This is a very exciting time to join Hartford’s mutual fund and 529 businesses,’ said Sloane. “I believe we have tremendous opportunity to accelerate our growth with such outstanding performance across the fund line-up and a strong and well-respected brand backing us up. With a suite of high-quality products, The Hartford is positioned to be a leader in helping investors meet their many financial goals and income needs.’
From the introduction of seven mutual funds in 1996, The Hartford’s mutual fund line-up expanded to 54 funds this year. According to a press release, the Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. mutual fund family has surpassed $50 billion in assets under management as of October 1, 2007, doubling in less than three years and up 38% from just one year ago. Retail mutual fund sales for the company are at an all-time high, reaching $10.8 billion through the third quarter of 2007, up 35% from the same period in 2006.