The Hartford disbands distribution arm

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is disbanding its distribution arm, Hartford Life Distributors, and decentralizing its wholesalers to four recently established business units. As a result of the changes, Kevin Connor's position as executive vice president of Hartford Life Distributors, has been eliminated, confirmed David Potter, a spokesman. Under the new structure, Hartford's wholesalers will be split among four business units: mutual funds, individual life, retirement plans and annuities. They will report to the heads of those units, Mr. Potter said. The move is an about-face for The Hartford, which in September consolidated all of its distribution under the Hartford Life Distributors name. But having wholesalers sell specific products — instead of all the carrier's investments — makes sense, said Keith Hartstein, president of John Hancock Funds LLC, which uses a similar sales model. “At various points in the past, firms have tried to have wholesalers sell multiple products and it has never worked,” Mr. Hartstein said. “Clearly delineating the responsibility makes sense.” The Hartford's director of wealth management, David Levenson, announced the heads of the different business units last week in an internal memo. Jim Davey, head of the company's retirement division, will run the firm's mutual fund business. Sharon Ritchey, director of operations, technology and eBusiness for the firm's wealth management division, will head up the retirement plans group. Rob Arena, director of annuities, mutual funds and Section 529 plans, will head up the global annuity business. Brian Murphy, executive vice president of individual life, will lead the individual-life business. The reorganization comes less than two months after Mr. Levenson took over as head of wealth management, replacing John C. Walters. Chief executive Liam McGee, who joined The Hartford last fall, has said that he would restructure the dual silo-life and property-casualty structure into three business lines: commercial markets, consumer markets and wealth management. The new appointments are the latest step in that transition, Mr. Potter said.