Hartford CEO: Wealth management, retirement are key

Growth in The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.'s wealth management and retirement businesses will be a renewed area of focus as the insurance giant welcomes its new chief executive, Liam E. McGee, who officially joined the firm last week from Bank of America Corp.

“My assessment of The Hartford is that it has a strong insurance business, largely through its property/ casualty side, but it also has a wealth management and retirement business that’s an important part of its future,” he said in an interview.

“I’m committed to that,” Mr. McGee said. “The demographics of the U.S. make that an attractive opportunity for us.”

The keys to the insurer’s comeback on the life insurance side will lie not only in ensuring that the company’s capital position is strong but also engaging financial advisers and customers with improved products.

Following investment losses and losses related to its heavy exposure to variable annuities with guaranteed-lifetime-withdrawal benefits, The Hartford took hits due to some advisers’ shying away from recommending the company’s products.

“Our goal is to earn back where we lost that trust and confidence,” Mr. McGee said. “It’s going to be important that we continue to have products that are innovative and that have the risk-reward relationship that ensures that we have sustainability in providing those products.”

Mr. McGee cited his experience as president of BofA’s consumer and small-business bank as an indication of how he will work with The Hartford’s distributors, wholesalers and broker-dealer, Woodbury Financial Services Inc.

“I have a sense of their requirements and what’s important to them. I think The Hartford has a good position with those distribution channels, and strategically, I’d like this company to be more competitive on the wealth and retirement sides,” Mr. McGee said.

“I have an understanding, respect and appreciation for their role with their clients and their customers. I saw that from both the banking business and in my interactions with my predecessor company,” Mr. McGee said.

“I spent quite a bit of time interacting extensively with the Thundering Herd,” he added, referring to the massive force of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. advisers that BofA acquired this year. “[Advisers] have a partner at The Hartford who understands the role they play for their customers.”

Mr. McGee is the most recent addition to The Hartford.

Last month, the company brought in Patrick McEvoy as the chief executive of its independent broker-dealer Woodbury Financial Services. Mr. McEvoy, who started in his new post last week, hails from Multi-Financial Securities Corp., an ING Advisor Network broker-dealer, where he was president and chief executive.

E-mail Darla Mercado at [email protected].