The advice & wealth management arm of Ameriprise Financial has reported pre-tax operating earnings of $205m, a fall of 2% compared to $210m in the year-ago quarter.
For the first quarter ended 31 March 2016, the unit’s pretax operating margin remained unchanged at 17.1 %.
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Operating net revenues dropped 2% to $1.2bn, as lower average equity markets reduced average client asset levels and client activity levels.
Operating expenses fell 2% to $1bn, while general and administrative expenses remained flat compared to the prior year quarter.
Total retail client assets remained flat at $451bn, as client net inflows and client acquisition were offset by market depreciation year-over-year.
Wrap net inflows reached $1.8bn in the quarter, leading to a 2% rise in wrap balances to $183bn.
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By GlobalDataThe company said that its total advisors at the end of the quarter were 9,766.
Asset Management
The pre-tax operating earnings at the asset management unit for the first quarter were $149m, a fall of 22% from $191m in the corresponding quarter of 2015, driven by lower average assets under management (AUM) related to lower average global markets and net outflows.
The unit’s operating net revenues decreased to $724m from the prior year, driven by the impact of lower asset levels.
Total segment AUM slumped 8% to $464bn from market depreciation and net outflows, mainly in lower-fee portfolios.
The unit’s operating expenses dipped 7% to $575m. Net outflows for the quarter were $7.5bn.
Overall, Ameriprise Financial group registered a net income of $364m, down 7% from $393m in the year-ago quarter.
Ameriprise chairman and CEO Jim Cracchiolo said: "With equity market declines and high volatility during the quarter, we continued to deliver solid underlying results as we focused on supporting our clients and advisors through this period and providing important perspective for the long-term. While client activity slowed given the markets, we continued to generate solid net inflows in fee-based investment advisory accounts and strong investment performance."
