Hartford financial planning company The Phoenix Cos. has reported a net loss of $339.5 million in the third quarter, compared to a profit of $34.8 million at the same time last year.

Much of the loss was blamed on charges related to the spin-off of its asset management business, now called Virtus Investment Partners. Phoenix said today it has signed an agreement with Harris Bankcorp, a U.S. subsidiary of Bank of Montreal, to take a 23 percent equity position in Virtus in connection with the spin-off.

“Overall, it was a difficult quarter, particularly for the market-sensitive portions of our business and our investment portfolio,” said Phoenix Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dona D. Young. “We are well positioned to manage through the worst market cycle in recent history by preserving capital and liquidity, maintaining expense discipline and building on our core business by serving our customers well. We have considerable financial flexibility and a number of options to reinforce our capital position, including the closed block.”