Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP):

First quarter 2024 GAAP results included favorable market impacts on the valuation of derivatives and market risk benefits, while the prior year quarter included unfavorable market impacts on the valuation of derivatives and market risk benefits.

Advice & Wealth Management pretax adjusted operating earnings and margin were strong at $762 million and 29.8 percent, respectively.

Adjusted operating net revenues increased 13 percent to $2.6 billion from growth in client assets in both wrap and brokerage accounts, increased transactional activity and a 30 percent increase in bank net investment income.

Adjusted operating expenses increased 14 percent to $1.8 billion compared to a year ago. Distribution expenses increased 17 percent. General and administrative expense was $420 million, up 7 percent. The company expects mid-single digit growth in general and administrative expenses for the full year.

The Wealth Management business continued to deliver profitable organic growth. Clients and advisors remained engaged and focused on positioning portfolios to meet financial planning goals through the market cycle.

• Total client assets grew 19 percent to $954 billion, with wrap assets up 20 percent to $522 billion. In the quarter, total client net flows were $8.5 billion, including wrap flows of $6.5 billion.
• Transactional activity increased 17 percent with strong growth in structured annuities and brokerage, an initial sign that clients are leveraging the company’s planning model to put money back to work.
• Cash balances were fairly stable at $43.3 billion, with cash sweep down only $1.0 billion in the quarter reflecting normal seasonal patterns.
• Total client cash including third-party money market funds and brokered CDs increased $0.9 billion sequentially to $82.4 billion, as clients remain heavily concentrated in yield-oriented products.
• The advisor network and advisor productivity grew from a year ago. Adjusted operating net revenue per advisor on a trailing 12-month basis was $942,000, up 11 percent from enhanced productivity, business growth and market appreciation, and the company added 64 experienced advisors in the quarter.

Asset Management adjusted operating net revenues grew 7 percent to $855 million and pretax adjusted operating earnings increased 25 percent to $206 million. Financial results reflected equity market appreciation and disciplined expense management, which more than offset the cumulative impact of net outflows. Net pretax adjusted operating margin was 35 percent, consistent with the company’s targeted range of 31 to 35 percent.

Adjusted operating expenses increased 2 percent, with general and administrative expenses flat from a year ago. Adjusted for foreign exchange and higher performance fee compensation, general and administrative expense was 3 percent lower than last year reflecting the benefits from comprehensive expense management initiatives taken since 2023.

Total assets under management increased 7 percent to $652 billion as equity market appreciation more than offset net outflows. The underlying fee rate remained stable at 46 basis points.

In the quarter, net outflows were $5.7 billion. Flows included $0.8 billion of outflows related to legacy insurance partners.

• Retail net outflows were $2.7 billion, consistent with other active managers. Gross sales improved in North America and EMEA year-over-year and sequentially, while redemptions remained stable.
• Global institutional outflows were $2.2 billion, primarily from a slowdown in the funding of new mandates, as well as redemptions in lower fee mandates and $0.4 billion of outflows from the previously announced proactive portfolio manager actions related to expense management initiatives.

Retirement & Protection Solutions pretax adjusted operating earnings increased 3 percent to $199 million, reflecting the benefit of higher interest rates and equity markets offset by higher distribution expenses associated with strong structured annuity sales levels. These high-quality books of business continued to generate strong free cash flow and return on capital with a differentiated risk profile.

Retirement & Protection Solutions sales increased 33 percent to $1.3 billion primarily from strong sales growth in structured variable annuities similar to the industry. Protection sales grew 8 percent to $65 million with the majority of sales in higher margin accumulation VUL products.

Total Corporate & Other Excluding Closed Blocks pretax adjusted operating loss was $99 million, which included $16 million of unfavorable mark-to-market impacts on share-based compensation expense, severance expense and a lease write-down.

Long Term Care pretax adjusted operating earnings increased to $16 million, showing continued improvement in financial performance from higher investment yields.

Fixed Annuities pretax adjusted operating loss was consistent with expectations at $6 million.

Taxes

The operating effective tax rate was 18.6 percent, reflecting favorable share-based accounting tax benefits in the quarter. The operating effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 21 percent for full year 2024.

About Ameriprise Financial

At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With extensive investment advice, asset management and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of over 10,000 financial advisors, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs. For more information, or to find an Ameriprise financial advisor, visit ameriprise.com.

Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC offers financial planning services, investments, insurance and annuity products. Columbia Funds are distributed by Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc., member FINRA and managed by Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. Threadneedle International Limited, Columbia Threadneedle Asset Managers Limited, Columbia Threadneedle (EM) Investments Limited, and Pyrford International Ltd, are SEC- and FCA-registered investment adviser affiliates of Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC based in the U.K. RiverSource insurance and annuity products are issued by RiverSource Life Insurance Company, and in New York only by RiverSource Life Insurance Co. of New York, Albany, New York. Only RiverSource Life Insurance Co. of New York is authorized to sell insurance and annuity products in the state of New York. These companies are part of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. CA License #0684538. RiverSource Distributors, Inc. (Distributor), Member FINRA.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The company believes the presentation of adjusted operating measures, available capital for capital adequacy and other non-GAAP financial measures, and the corresponding ratios, best represents the underlying performance of our core operations and facilitates a more meaningful trend analysis without the distortion of various adjustment items. Management uses non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our financial performance on a basis comparable to that used by some securities analysts and investors and to provide a valuable perspective for investors. These non-GAAP financial measures are taken into consideration, to varying degrees, for purposes of business planning and analysis and for certain compensation-related matters. Non-GAAP financial measures are intended to supplement investors’ understanding of our performance and should not be considered alternatives for financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP. These measures are discussed in more detail below and may not be comparable to other companies’ similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measure reconciliations can be found on the subsequent pages.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management’s plans, estimates and beliefs. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. Examples of such forward-looking statements include:

• statements of the company’s plans, intentions, positioning, expectations, objectives or goals, including those relating to asset flows, mass affluent and affluent client acquisition strategy, client retention and growth of our client base, financial advisor productivity, retention, recruiting and enrollments, the introduction, cessation, terms or pricing of new or existing products and services, acquisition integration, general and administrative costs, net pretax adjusted operating margin, consolidated tax rate, return of capital to shareholders, and excess capital position and financial flexibility to capture additional growth opportunities;
• other statements about future economic performance, the performance of equity markets and interest rate variations and the economic performance of the United States and of global markets;
• statements estimating Advice & Wealth Management general and administrative expenses for full year 2024;
• statements estimating the expected full year 2024 operating effective tax rate; and
• statements of assumptions underlying such statements.

The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “optimistic,” “intend,” “plan,” “aim,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely,” “forecast,” “on track,” “project,” ”continue,” “able to remain”, “resume,” “deliver,” “develop,” “evolve,” “drive,” ”enable,” “flexibility,” “commitment,” “scenario,” “case,” “appear,” “expands” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Management cautions readers to carefully consider the risks described in the “Risk Factors” discussion under Part 1, Item 1A of and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 available at ir.ameriprise.com. Management undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

The financial results discussed in this news release represent past performance only, which may not be used to predict or project future results. The financial results and values presented in this news release are based upon asset valuations that represent estimates as of the date of this news release and may be revised in the company’s Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2024.

Ameriprise Financial announces financial and other information to investors through the company’s investor relations website at ir.ameriprise.com, as well as SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls and webcasts. Investors and others interested in the company are encouraged to visit the investor relations website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. The website also allows users to sign up for automatic notifications in the event new materials are posted. The information found on the website is not incorporated by reference into this release or in any other report or document the company furnishes or files with the SEC.

Barron’s Best Fund Families of 2023 - February 29, 2024: Columbia Threadneedle Investments ranked as follows: One-year (8 out of 49); Five-year (11 out of 47); Ten-year (4 out of 46).