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New York's top financial regulator has called for a national moratorium on certain transactions by life insurance companies that potentially put policyholders and taxpayers at greater risk, according to a regulatory report. _0"> The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in a report published late on Tuesday that insurance companies use a method known as "shadow insurance" to shift blocks of insurance policy claims to shell companies — often in states outside where the companies are based, or else offshore — to take advantage of looser reserve and regulatory requirements. Such transactions aim to help an insurance company divert the reserves that it had previously set aside to pay policyholders to other purposes, the DFS said. However, the regulator said such transactions do not actually transfer the risk for those insurance policies as the parent company would still be liable for paying claims if the shell company's weaker reserves ar

The chief executive of hedge fund lobby the Alternative Investment Management Association, Andrew Baker, will step down at the end of 2013, AIMA said on Wednesday. _0"> Baker, who has been in the job since the start of 2009, will remain until his successor - who AIMA is in the process of identifying - has begun work. Baker said in a statement he was "looking forward to future challenges" but did not specify what he planned to do next. London-based AIMA, representing the interests of more than 1,300 corporate members, has spent recent years lobbying European policymakers to temper parts of an incoming Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, involving curbs on hedge fund pay and borrowing money to fund investments.   (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Switzerland cleared the first hurdle towards ending a long-running U.S. tax probe after one chamber of lawmakers voted to allow banks to sidestep strict secrecy laws to end the threat of criminal charges for helping wealthy Americans evade tax. The draft law is set to face far tougher opposition in Switzerland's lower house next week than in the upper chamber, which passed it by a decisive 24 votes to 15 on Wednesday.   The protection of client information has helped to make Switzerland the world's biggest offshore financial center, with $2 trillion in assets. But that haven has come under fire as other countries have sought to plug budget deficits by clamping down on tax evasion, with authorities probing Swiss banks in Germany and France as well as the United States. With some of its biggest institutions facing formal investigations and Switzerland's oldest private bank already a prominent victim in the probe, the Swiss government is seeking a swift compromise with t

Morgan Stanley is once again targeting pretax profit margins of 20 percent or more in its wealth management business, according to a presentation by CEO James Gorman on Wednesday. _0"> Morgan Stanley is targeting margins of 20 to 22 percent by 2015, assuming no change in interest rates or equity markets. The bank issued a 20 percent target when it first announced plans to acquire Citigroup Inc's Smith Barney brokerage business. It later scaled back its ambitions to a "preteens" margin by mid-2013 due to unexpected costs and delays related to the merger. Having met that goal two quarters early, it is now aiming for higher margins, according to Gorman's presentation.   (Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by John Wallace)

Raymond James Financial Inc has expanded its adviser force in Georgia with a veteran hire from top U.S. brokerage Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the company said on Wednesday. _0"> Adviser Cynthia Woodsmall Jones, who managed more than $435 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley, moved to Raymond James in May after more than three decades with her former firm. She had an annual production of more than $1 million.   Jones joined Raymond James & Associates, the company's traditional employee broker-dealer division. She was joined by registered sales associate Brenda Meadows, also from Morgan Stanley, and is based in the firm's Columbus, Georgia, office. Jones specializes in asset management for high-net-worth individuals and families and advises on corporate retirement assets, including 401(k) plans. She started her career in 1981 at Robinson-Humphrey & Co, staying with the firm through a series of mergers and acquisitions before joining Morgan Stanley

If your idea of a client-wooing event is a steak dinner and an investment lecture, you may be missing out on a very big market: the children of your clients, whose tastes differ markedly from those of their parents. Ignore the kids and their preferences at your own peril. While younger clients tend to have small accounts now, they are expected to earn and inherit enough to make them a significant client base for advisers. Some $30 trillion in assets is expected to be shifted to younger generations over the next 30 years, according to Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon. And advisers typically lose half of the assets they manage when those assets are passed from one generation to the next, a 2011 study by consulting firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers found.   In a survey of 317 advisers conducted in February and March, Pershing found that more than half of their affluent clients had adult children, but advisers had talked about finances with only about a third of those

Long-term-care insurance has always been an expensive product, but now it is getting a lot pricier - especially for single women who may most need help in old age. Providers are raising rates for old policies and new ones - by as much as 60 percent, according to state filings. But the latest development is gender-based pricing. Genworth, a leader in this field, has started selling plans in 31 states that charge more for women than men. John Hancock is also embracing gender-based pricing, and other insurers are expected to follow suit. Long-term-care insurance covers the costs associated with assistance in daily living - when a person needs help dressing, bathing, preparing food and the like. Women live longer than men, on average, and long-term-care insurance companies are experiencing higher payouts for women policyholders than for men. For example, a 60-year-old man or woman buying three years of $6,000-a-month coverage in Illinois - which doesn't have gender-based pricing n