Ameriprise profit soared by 33% in 2024

Ameriprise financial advisors reached a record level of productivity to close out 2024 — even as its headcount moved up only slightly amid difficult competition for top talent.

In its Jan. 29 earnings disclosure for the fourth quarter and a call with analysts the following day, the company singled out its Advice & Wealth Management segment for its contribution to Ameriprise's new highs in client assets and advisory account flows as well. But the company's advisor recruiting numbers displayed only minor gains for the year.

The Minneapolis-based firm has shifted its executive ranks a bit as its rivals pull off splashy recruiting and M&A deals and fight Ameriprise in legal cases for seemingly every advisor and client asset. Last month, the company appointed 23-year Ameriprise veteran Brian Mora to be its senior vice president of experienced advisor recruiting. He replaced Manish Dave as the firm's top recruiter following Dave's surprise resignation in October.

Despite the change at the top of its recruiting efforts, the company still boosted its overall profits by a third in 2024.

To see the key wealth management takeaways from Ameriprise's fourth-quarter earnings statement, scroll down the slideshow. And follow these links to see analysis of the company's results from the first, second and third quarters of 2024.

Financial advisor headcount

For the year, Ameriprise added a net 60 advisors to increase its headcount by 1% year-over-year to 10,427. The number of employee advisors ticked up by the same percentage, or a net 28, to 2,256. The firm's ranks of independent franchise advisors climbed by a net 32 in 2024 to 8,171. Roughly seven weeks after Mora took over his role, the company disclosed that it had recruited 91 experienced advisors in the last quarter of the year.

Productivity

Adjusted annual operating net revenue per advisor jumped 13% from the prior year on the strength of "client and advisor engagement and focus on positioning portfolios to meet financial planning goals across market cycles," according to the firm. That, alongside rising asset values last year, boosted advisors' productivity.

Client assets

Stock and bond growth, as well as incoming client advisory holdings, bumped up client assets. The customer holdings surged 14% year over year to $1.03 trillion, including an 18% hike in wrap advisory accounts that reached $573.9 billion. The flows into advisory accounts soared 59% from the same period a year before to $11.1 billion. 

Other kinds of holdings didn't attract so many incoming assets: Overall net flows plummeted by 50% to $11.3 billion. However, an influx of $14.7 billion managed by about 100 advisors at Comerica Bank that came into Ameriprise in November 2023 as part of one of the largest recruiting moves in the independent brokerage channel that year accounted for a large portion of that decreased flow. 

Expenses

Adjusted operating costs enlarged by 18% from the same period a year ago to $2.01 billion, reflecting higher client assets and other increases in business. The company excluded as a one-time expense the cost of its settlement with the SEC in August over off-channel communications. At $50 million, it and rivals LPL Financial, Edward Jones and Raymond James paid the most of the 26 companies that the SEC ordered to pay a combined $392.75 million to resolve the charges in that wave of settlements.

Bottom line

For the quarter, the company generated pretax adjusted operating earnings of $823 million on revenue of $2.83 billion for a margin of 29%. Profit grew 18%, revenue expanded by the same percentage and the margin was the same as the third quarter of 2024. 

Those elevated earnings easily offset shrinking interest revenue tied to the Fed's interest-rate cuts. Last year, the full company including the wealth management unit and the three other segments raked in net income of $3.4 billion — a 33% spike from 2023.

Remark

The firm's advisors helped it deliver "a record year in 2024, including a strong fourth quarter," according to CEO Jim Cracchiolo.

"We generated double-digit revenue growth with excellent earnings growth, reflecting the strength of the business and our client and advisor value propositions," he said in a statement. "Client activity and engagement were robust. Client inflows into fee-based investment advisory accounts grew to an all-time high. And with strong wealth management flows and positive markets, total client assets reached record levels."