Earnings: Ameriprise, E*Trade

Ameriprise Financial Inc. posted strong returns in the fourth quarter, while E*Trade Financial Corp. took a larger-than-expected plunge into negative territory. Ameriprise said fourth-quarter earnings rose 49% due to growth in its high-net-wealth client business. The Minneapolis-based brokerage and asset management firm said net income grew to $255 million, or $1.08 per share, up from $171 million, or 69 cents per share during the year-ago period. The earnings excluded non-recurring investment gains and costs of its 2005 spin-off from American Express Co., resulting in adjusted earnings per share of $1.16. The company said that management and financial advice fees increased 25%, while the number of mass-affluent and affluent client assets increased 10% from same quarter in 2006. E*Trade recorded a $2.2 billion charge related to the sale of its asset-backed securities portfolio. The New York-based discount brokerage recorded a fourth quarter loss of $1.71 billion, or $3.98 per share, down from net income of $177 million, or 40 cents per share a year ago. During the quarter, E*Trade received a $2.55 billion cash infusion from the Chicago-based Citadel Investment Group for about $800 million. Total consumer assets fell to $190 billion from $218 billion in the third-quarter and $194.9 billion during the year-ago period. On a positive note for the firm, daily average revenue-producing trades increased 38% to 214,066.