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Proving that it is still in the competition for top advisory talent, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has tapped competing firms to add nine new financial advisors with more than $1.22 billion in client assets under management to its forces.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shaved off 3.56 points Monday to close at 13,271.64 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 trimmed 0.38 points and 0.03 points, respectively.

Merrill Lynch has hired a two-member advisor team who previously managed more than $1 billion at Wells Fargo's Abbot Downing business.

Russell Investments is planning to close its family of 25 passively managed ETFs. Russell will continue to operate the Russell Equity ETF.

Annuity sales in the second quarter of 2012 totaled $57 billion, down 8% from the year-ago quarter, according to LIMRA.

The nuances of advising widows and divorcees require a more tailored approach to investment planning.

Nasdaq OMX Group said it plans to launch 150,000 indexes by the end of next year. The firm will raise redefine 'real-time" to feature tick by tick updating of index values

Incapital, an underwriter of fixed income securities and financial products, has launched Incapital Canada.

JHS Capital Advisors, a Tampa, Fla., based registered securities broker-dealer and registered investment advisor, continued its national expansion when it announced Monday it hired Steven R. Lofquist as a first vice president and a financial advisor.

Year-to-date, total annuity sales declined eight percent compared to the first half of 2011, reaching $57.0 billion, according to LIMRA.