Ameriprise Financial NYSE: AMP reported higher third-quarter adjusted operating revenue and earnings, supported by asset growth, client activity and advisor productivity, while management highlighted continued investment in technology, advisor support and capital returns.
Excluding the impact of its annual actuarial assumption update, Ameriprise said adjusted operating net revenue rose 10% year over year to $5.1 billion. Adjusted operating earnings increased 14%, while adjusted earnings per share rose 22%. Total assets under management, administration and advisement increased 8% to $1.8 trillion.
Chairman and CEO Jim Cracchiolo said the company was operating in a market environment marked by equity-market gains alongside inflation, higher interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. He said client demand for financial advice remained an important driver of the company’s performance.
“Clients want to work with an advisor and a firm they can trust, with the advice, investment expertise, and solutions to fully serve their needs,” Cracchiolo said.
Wealth Management Growth and Advisor Productivity
Ameriprise’s Wealth Management segment reported adjusted operating net revenue of $3.4 billion, up 13% from a year earlier. Fee-based and transaction-based revenue increased 15%, aided by higher client asset levels and increased activity. Transaction activity rose 6%, primarily due to annuity-product sales and brokerage transactions.
Pre-tax adjusted operating earnings in the segment increased 12% to $989 million, while the segment’s adjusted operating margin was 29%. Chief Financial Officer Walter Berman said the company expects wealth-management margins to remain around that range under normal market conditions.
Total wealth-management client assets rose 8% to $1.2 trillion, while wrap assets increased 12% to $729 billion. Excluding Comerica-related activity, client net inflows increased 56% year over year to $5.3 billion, and wrap net inflows increased 38% to $6.6 billion.
Revenue per advisor climbed 13% to a record $1.2 million. Cracchiolo said Ameriprise recruited 79 experienced advisors during the quarter and reported high retention across its advisor base, including high-90% retention among advisors who have been with the firm for more than 10 years.
Management addressed investor questions about industry recruiting competition and reports concerning retention arrangements. Cracchiolo said Ameriprise does not have a broad retention program, describing its approach as working individually with advisors on practice growth, succession, acquisitions, liquidity and complex-team needs.
Berman said the company’s strategy is centered on organic growth and sustainable profitability rather than broadly structured incentives. He added that some competing recruitment offers appear to have lengthy payback periods, particularly as firms may seek to use higher interest rates to support more aggressive packages.
Huntington Bank Partnership and Technology Investments
Ameriprise completed the transition of approximately 260 Huntington Bank advisors and $28 billion in client assets earlier in October, representing the company’s largest financial institutions group, or AFIG, relationship. Huntington Bank’s acquisition of Cadence Bank is expected to add another 29 advisors and $4 billion in assets to the program in mid-2027.
Cracchiolo said the Huntington relationship expands Ameriprise’s presence in the bank channel and may help demonstrate the company’s ability to support larger institutional partnerships. Management said it continues to engage with other potential partners.
The company also emphasized investments in artificial intelligence and integrated technology. Cracchiolo said advisor practices using current AI capabilities can generate more than 30 hours of additional weekly capacity. Ameriprise has delivered tens of millions of AI-generated insights, with nearly three-quarters of advisor practices using those insights, he said.
During the quarter, the company began an early release of an AI-powered meeting-preparation agent and service assistant. Ameriprise plans to expand those tools in 2027 with broader data integration and additional guided workflows.
Asset Management and Retirement & Protection
In Global Asset Management, assets under management and advisement rose 4% year over year to $743 billion. Segment revenue increased 9% to $990 million, while pre-tax adjusted operating earnings rose 18% to $308 million. The segment’s adjusted operating margin was 46%, and the underlying fee rate was approximately 48 basis points.
Cracchiolo said asset-management flows were affected by certain larger institutional mandates and client asset-allocation decisions. He said the company expects institutional activity to improve and cited opportunities in alternatives, real estate, active exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts and model portfolios.
The company said 78% of its retail funds ranked above the median of peers over three years, 74% did so over five years, and 87% did so over 10 years. Ameriprise also announced a strategic collaboration with Hamilton Lane initially focused on launching a public-private growth equity interval fund in the coming months.
Retirement & Protection Solutions generated $198 million in pre-tax adjusted operating earnings excluding unlocking. Sales increased 24%, driven by demand for structured variable annuities, variable annuities without living-benefit riders and variable universal life insurance.
Ameriprise’s annual actuarial assumption update resulted in an unfavorable after-tax impact of $74 million. Berman said the company’s long-term care business was performing in line with expectations and that policyholder behavior remained within the company’s anticipated range.
Capital Returns and Balance Sheet
Ameriprise returned $1 billion of capital to shareholders during the quarter, representing 93% of operating earnings. The company repurchased 4.9 million shares at an average price of $491 and ended the quarter with $2 billion of excess capital and $2.3 billion of holding-company available liquidity.
The board authorized a new $5.5 billion share-repurchase program through Sept. 30, 2028. Berman said the higher repurchases during the quarter reflected what management viewed as an opportunistic use of its capital capacity.
Return on equity, excluding unlocking, rose to 56% from 52.8% a year earlier. Over the past 12 months, Ameriprise said revenue grew 11%, adjusted earnings per share increased 19%, and the company returned $3.9 billion of capital to shareholders.
About Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP)
Ameriprise Financial, Inc NYSE: AMP is a diversified financial services company that provides advice, wealth management, asset management, insurance and retirement solutions. Through its network of financial advisors and digital platforms, the company serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions with financial planning, investment management and related services.
Its products and services include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, retirement plans, annuities, life and long-term care insurance, banking services and financial planning.
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