Christopher Williams

In an estimated $1.9 billion deal, giant asset manager Wellington Management has agreed to buy Hartford Funds from The Hartford, creating a single, integrated U.S. wealth platform spanning investment management, distribution and servicing. After the closing of the transaction, Hartford Funds will be integrated into Wellington’s U.S. wealth business and operate under the Wellington brand, Wellington and The Hartford said in a joint news release.

Many market strategists expect the already-galloping stock markets to get an extra boost when the Iran war ends. A top Goldman official thinks the consumer-related, healthcare and energy sectors are possible winners when the shooting stops. “It really depends on what that agreement looks like,” John Waldron, Goldman’s president and chief operating officer, told more than 120 executives at the annual Goldman Sachs RIA Investment Forum in New York City earlier this month.

Is a liberal arts degree still a smart bet for college students in the age of AI? Goldman Sachs thinks so. Goldman earlier this month gathered more than 120 executives to its downtown Manhattan headquarters for its annual RIA Professional Investor Forum. And a takeaway from one of the panels was that students don’t have to be hooked on AI or a software engineer to find a place in the growing wealth management and advisory business.