Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s second-quarter results exemplified large firms' continued appetite to hire financial advisers in the face of this year's turbulent markets, with the financial planning giant announcing Tuesday afternoon that it had hired 99 experienced financial advisers over the three months ending in June.
Over the first half of the year, the S&P 500 was down 20.6%, which could have signaled difficulties in hiring financial advisers. The recruiting market for advisers is still slightly below its pre-pandemic levels of 2019, and many advisers are reluctant to move to a new employer and take a recruiting bonus when they are managing clients' anxieties about the market.
But large firms like Ameriprise have recently reported success in hiring during the second quarter. Merrill Lynch, for example, saw its best quarter of hiring experienced financial advisers in a dozen years, reeling in 93 advisers over the three months that ended in June, according to a senior Merrill Lynch executive.
The total financial adviser head count at Ameriprise increased 2% in the second quarter compared June 2021, reaching 10,245. Adjusted operating net revenue per adviser on a trailing 12-month basis was $814,000, up 11% when compared to the same period last year.
“In wealth management, we’re generating good organic growth and results remain strong, with excellent client and adviser engagement around our advice value proposition," chairman and CEO James Cracchiolo said in a statement.
Total client assets declined 9% to $735 billion when compared to the same period last year, reflecting the broad market's depreciation. That drop was partially offset by client inflows, with net flows of $8.6 billion in the quarter, according to the company.
Eliseo Prisno, a former Merrill advisor, allegedly collected unapproved fees from Filipino clients by secretly accessing their accounts at two separate brokerages.
The Harford, Connecticut-based RIA is expanding into a new market in the mid-Atlantic region while crossing another billion-dollar milestone.
The Wall Street giant's global wealth head says affluent clients are shifting away from America amid growing fallout from President Donald Trump's hardline politics.
Chief economists, advisors, and chief investment officers share their reactions to the June US employment report.
"This shouldn’t be hard to ban, but neither party will do it. So offensive to the people they serve," RIA titan Peter Mallouk said in a post that referenced Nancy Pelosi's reported stock gains.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
