The advice & wealth management arm of the Ameriprise Financial has reported pre-tax operating earnings of $210m for the fourth quarter of 2015, down marginally compared with $212m a year ago.
For the quarter ended 31 December 2015, the division’s pretax operating margin was 16.6% compared to 17% a year ago reflecting lower market appreciation and a slowdown in client activity related to market volatility.
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Operating net revenues rose 1% to $1.3bn driven by growth in fee-based accounts from client net inflows.
The division’s operating expenses rose 2% to $1.1bn. General and administrative expenses remained flat compared to a year ago.
During the fourth quarter, total retail client assets grew 1% to $447bn compared to a year earlier as client net inflows and client acquisition were offset by year-over-year market depreciation. Wrap net inflows stood at $2.1bn, which contributed to a 3% rise in wrap balances to $180bn.
Ameriprise said that total advisors at the unit were 9,789 reflecting strong advisor retention and ongoing advisor recruiting.
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By GlobalDataAsset Management
The pre-tax operating earnings at the asset management unit for the fourth quarter of 2015 fell 3% to $193m from $198m a year ago.
These earnings included a net benefit from several timing-related items that were more than offset by lower AUM related to weak global markets and net outflows.
The unit’s operating net revenues were flat at $640m compared to $632m a year ago as performance fees and CLO liquidation benefits were offset by the impact of lower asset levels.
Total segment assets under management decreased 7% to $472bn from $506bn a year ago related to lower market appreciation, net outflows and a negative foreign exchange translation.
Asset Management unit’s operating expenses were $640mand included general and administrative expenses relating to higher performance fees and CLO liquidation, investments in advertising and the timing of certain other expenses.
The unit’s net outflows for the quarter were $0.7bn, which included $8.7bn of reinvested dividends and $6.5bn of low-fee, former parent related outflows.
Overall, Ameriprise Financial group reported fourth quarter 2015 net income of $357m, or $2.00 per diluted share, down 16% compared to $426m a year ago.
Ameriprise chairman and CEO Jim Cracchiolo said: "In fact, for the fifth consecutive year we returned more than 100 percent of our operating earnings to shareholders. And we delivered a record high operating return on equity of 24.3 percent."
