Are Fortis Financial's reported plans to expand still on go? Last week the insurer's domestic business, including its fund group, were purchased by The Hartford. In wake of the buyout, the firm is not addressing how this acquisition may effect its planned changes.

Both firms are citing SEC regulations as explanation for their lack of comment.

It would not be surprising if these plans are put on hold or changed in the wake of last week's purchase since one of Hartford's aims in the deal was to grow the scale of its own business. Hartford also has many of the products and skills of Fortis in its existing business lines.

Fortis Financial had been planning to launch a pair of new annuity products by the end of June and that it would start a new marketing campaign for the retirement market, confirmed a spokesperson for Fortis.

Additionally, Fortis executives accepted plans for a marketing campaign called Retirement By Design before news of the purchase was released.

These changes would also have called for the addition of more staff, according to published reports that the spokesperson declined to comment on.

"It's not that the acquisition tabled the launches, but that the acquisition tabled the talk of the launches," explained a Fortis spokesperson.  

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