AIG completes Woodbury Financial Services deal

American International Group Inc. said Monday that it had completed the purchase of independent broker-dealer Woodbury Financial Services Inc. from The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. The companies signed a definitive agreement for the deal July 31. Woodbury, with 1,400 advisers and $25 billion in assets under management, joins AIG Life and Retirement's network of broker-dealers, called the Advisor Group. The other broker-dealers in the network include FSC Securities Corp., Royal Alliance Associates and SagePoint Financial. With the addition of Woodbury, the Advisor Group has more than 6,000 independent reps and advisers, 800 employees in various home offices and $125 billion in assets under management. The Hartford is one of a growing number of insurers to exit the low-margin independent broker-dealer business. Others that have made the move include Genworth Financial Inc. and Ameriprise Financial Inc., which balances asset management and retail securities brokerage with insurance. Although ING sold the bulk of its independent broker-dealer operations, it retains one: ING Financial Partners.