By Josh Beckerman
Ameriprise Financial Inc. said its second-quarter earnings rose
11% as its advice-and-wealth-management business continued to post
strong growth.
The financial-services company said: "We're managing through
this protracted period of low interest rates and higher equity
market volatility while continuing to invest in the business."
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs downgraded Ameriprise and said
it expected "soft" second-quarter results from asset managers.
Ameriprise reported a profit of $415 million, or $2.23 a share,
compared with $374 million, or $1.91 a share, a year earlier.
Per-share operating earnings, which exclude realized gains and
losses, market effects on variable annuity benefits and other
items, rose to $2.33 from $2.08. Operating earnings include five
cents a share of unfavorable items, including weather-related
catastrophe losses in its Auto & Home insurance business.
Revenue increased 2% to $3.13 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share operating
profit of $2.28 and revenue of $3.11 billion.
Total assets under management and administration were $811
billion at the end of the quarter.
Advice-and-wealth-management client assets rose 4% to $453
billion, reflecting strong fee-based investment advisory net
inflows.
In April, Ameriprise said it agreed to buy the retail assets of
JHS Capital Advisors, which had retail assets totaling $4.1 billion
at the end of 2014.
Ameriprise was spun off from American Express Co. in 2005.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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