Ameriprise Financial reported a 16 percent increase in net income for the second quarter, thanks largely to strong growth its advice and wealth management segment. Net income grew to $374 million, or $1.91 per share, compared to $322 million in the year-ago period. Net revenues were $3.07 billion, up 12 percent from last year, beating analysts’ expectations by $40 million.
Operating earnings grew 16 percent year-over-year to $408 million, or $2.08 a share, beating analysts’ estimates by $0.07.
In the advice and wealth management segment, pre-tax operating earnings jumped 29 percent to $194 million, due to revenue growth and expense controls, the company said. The group’s pre-tax operating margin reached a record 16.2 percent, compared to 13.9 percent a year ago. The advice and wealth and asset management businesses now account for over 60 percent of the company’s earnings.
Operating net revenue in advice and wealth grew 11 percent over last year to $1.2 billion, as strong fee-based growth offset the effect of low interest rates, said Jim Cracchiolo, chairman and CEO.
Overall, assets under management and administration increased to a record $810 billion, up 15 percent year-over-year, a reflection of strong advisor client flows and positive markets, Cracchiolo added. Client assets in the advice and wealth segment rose 16 percent to $435 billion, due to meaningful flows into the investment advisory program.
Ameriprise recruited 54 advisors during the quarter, but total headcount is down 1 percent from a year ago to 9,692. That compares to 9,788 in the year-ago quarter and 9,704 last quarter.
Advisor productivity is up 14 percent year-over-year to $468,000.
