Advice and wealth management power Ameriprise 2Q

Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s advice and wealth management operations helped drive second-quarter pretax operating earnings up 37% — or $152 million — over the same quarter in 2012. “All of our business segments performed well, most notably advice and wealth management,” Ameriprise chairman and chief executive Jim Cracchiolo said in a statement. “We're experiencing good growth in client acquisition and strong client net inflows, which are key drivers of adviser productivity gains. Even with the pressure of low interest rates, we're delivering meaningful growth in profitability.” Net revenue for the advice and wealth management businesses for the quarter ended June 30 were almost $1.1 billion, an increase of 13% vs. the same quarter last year. The company also added 88 financial advisers during the quarter, which was consistent with the number of advisers added during the second quarter last year. In total, the company has a network of 10,000 financial advisers. The earnings growth for Ameriprise's wealth management business came despite an “unfavorable impact” of $15 million in the quarter from lower interest rates, the company said in its earnings report. There was also an absence of $18 million of earnings in the quarter from former banking operations, the company said.