Portfolio

The leading mutual fund brand in the nation is Vanguard and the leading distributor is Charles Schwab, 4,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors told Cogent Research in a recent survey. In both categories, Fidelity, which had previously held first place since Cogent started the research in 2006, was knocked to second.

Third-quarter annuity commissions rose 12.9% to $669.8 million from the previous quarter.

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. has enhanced its mutual fund services to include 529 college savings plan information in a streamlined manner for broker/dealers and other financial distributors. New functionality has been added to the transactional hub Fund/SERVE and to network account reconciliation.

Its largest segment, the private-client group, increased revenue 10% but lending woes in its banking unit hampered results for the quarter.

However, the full year results for the division weren’t quite so rosy.

The incoming CEO has a clear preference to make acquisitions in Europe and Asia.

Who, if anyone, will be his successor?

Profits rose from a year earlier in its fiscal third quarter, but declined slightly from the previous quarter.

Rodger A. Lawson, 63, president of Fidelity Investments since 2007, will step down in March. The fund giant will likely select one or possibly three successors from its executive committee, Lawson announced in a briefing Wednesday.

The Supreme Court decided not to review a 401(k) fee lawsuit against Deere and Fidelity that was dismissed by a U.S. District Court in 2007, and again rebuffed a U.S. Court of Appeals a year ago.