AMP Capital’s wealth management arm has reported operating earnings of A$195m for the first half of 2016, a fall of 6% compared to A$207m a year ago.
The bank attributed the fall in operating earnings to challenging investment market conditions, partially offset by disciplined cost control.
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Wealth management net cash flows for the period were A$582m, a slump of 49.4% from A$1.15bn in the prior year.
Operating earnings at the Australian wealth protection unit stood at A$47m, down 52.5% from A$99m a year earlier. The decline was driven by poor claims experience across income protection, lump sum and group insurance, AMP said.
Overall, the group’s underlying profit dropped 10% to A$513m for the first half of 2016 from A$570m in the first half of 2015, driven by higher claims in Australian wealth protection and volatile investment market conditions.
The group’s net profit however, increased 3% year-on-year to A$523m from A$507m.
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By GlobalDataAMP CEO Craig Meller said: "AMP Capital, AMP Bank and our New Zealand business have performed strongly, while Australian wealth management has demonstrated resilient performance in a difficult market environment.
"While first half claims experience was poor, we continue to focus on improving the outcomes for customers and shareholders in our wealth protection business, with actions underway to improve capital efficiency and reduce volatility.”
