Morningstar has entered into a definite agreement to acquire the annuity intelligence business of Advanced Sales and Marketing for $14.1 million.

Volatile equities markets and heightened EU sovereign credit risk during the second quarter of 2010 have drawn significant attention to mutual fund performance. Beyond the challenges posed by the current market environment, mutual fund managers are also contending with a variety of strategic, operational and tactical changes that are reshaping their firms and the industry as a whole. Three key areas that should be firmly in their sights are:

On the heels of its $4.9 billion acquisition of Hewitt Associates, Chicago-based Aon Corp. announced a three-year restructuring plan centered on eliminating 1,500 to 1,800 jobs, which it expects will save the company $280 million annually.

State Street Corp., known for its passive asset management, may soon expand its small active management business.

Charles Schwab Corp. announced Monday that it has agreed to buy Windward Investment Management Inc., a Boston investment advisory firm.

Despite the fact mergers and acquisitions have gone dormant this year, deals are expected to surge in the next six months.

Bank of America is rumored to be considering selling its 34% stake in BlackRock, according to The Wall Street Journal. Now the question is whether the bank is looking to get out of asset management altogether.

Nuveen Investments Inc. announced Thursday it will buy FAF Advisors from U.S. Bancorp.

Knight Capital Group said it agreed to acquire Astor Asset Management, LLC, a money management firm specializing in macro-economic strategy and construction of portfolios of exchange-traded funds. Knight said it would pay roughly $20 million in cash and stock, based on Astor’s assets under management at the close.

LPL Financial is acquiring “certain assets” from National Retirement Partners, the broker/dealer announced Wednesday.

Aon Corp. announced Monday it is buying Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion, with the aim of creating the world’s leading “human capital solutions” company. The combined company will be called Aon Hewitt.

Standard & Poor’s and Financial Research Corp. announced a content-licensing and distribution agreement Thursday whereby FRC data will be available on S&P’s MarketScope Advisor platform for financial advisers. Terms of the agreement, including financial considerations, were not disclosed. An S&P spokesman denied the deal is a precursor to an acquisition of FRC from its parent, private equity firm Mercatus Partners LLC.

To expand its footprint in the managed account business, Fiserv announced Monday it has acquired AdviceAmerica, a provider of financial planning software for independent advisors and institutions.

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UMB Fund Services has signed a deal to acquire the managed accounts solutions business of J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services.

Morningstar Inc. has completed its $42 million acquisition of Realpoint LLC, a Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization (NRSRO) that specializes in structured finance.

Ameriprise Financial has put the finishing touches on its nearly $1 billion purchase of Bank of America’s long-term asset management business Columbia Management. The original agreement dates back to last September.

The pace of mergers and acquisitions in the asset management industry is expected to pick up for the rest of this year both nationally and globally after tumbling in the first quarter.

The country's two largest custody banks said they will keep looking for acquisitions, of whatever size, as they wait for higher interest rates to spur organic growth.

As sentiment among wealth managers shifts, more capital has become available and companies right-size, banks, trust companies, wealth managers, and bank brokerages that are in a strong position to expand into a new market and acquire new units, will do so. But it is also the moment when companies without the capital-and stability-will get left behind.