Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Q4 2025: Buyback Surges 37% as Advisor Productivity and Flows Hit Records
Ameriprise capped 2025 with record advisor productivity, robust client flows, and a 37% year-over-year jump in capital return, signaling operational leverage and aggressive shareholder payouts. Strategic investments in technology and advisor platforms are driving organic expansion, even as management keeps expense growth in check. As AMP enters 2026, competitive recruiting, disciplined cost management, and evolving product innovation set the stage for continued momentum despite industry consolidation and macro shifts.
Summary
- Advisor Productivity Peaks: Record productivity and recruiting drive organic client growth and new asset inflows.
- Capital Return Accelerates: Share repurchase and dividends surpassed operating earnings, reflecting balance sheet strength.
- Expense Discipline Holds: Tech and AI investments offset by ongoing reengineering keep costs within targeted ranges.
Performance Analysis
Ameriprise Financial delivered a robust Q4, setting new highs across revenue, earnings, and return on equity. Adjusted operating revenue rose sharply, fueled by double-digit growth in both wealth management and asset management. Client assets reached $1.2 trillion, up 13% year-over-year, with net inflows of $13.3 billion, reflecting both organic expansion and successful advisor recruiting.
Advisor productivity hit a new watermark at $1.1 million per advisor, up 8%. The signature Wealth Unified Management account, a recently launched managed account platform, saw rapid adoption and positive advisor feedback, underscoring the firm's tech-driven approach. Asset management also contributed meaningfully, with total assets under management and advisement at $721 billion and strong performance fees from hedge funds and alternative strategies. Capital return to shareholders surged 37% to $1.1 billion in the quarter, exceeding operating earnings and driving full-year capital return to nearly 90% of operating earnings.
- Client Flow Acceleration: Inflows increased 18% year-over-year, with wrap assets up 17%, emphasizing organic and advisor-driven growth.
- Expense Management: Operating expenses rose in line with volume and productivity, but ongoing transformation and automation efforts kept growth within single digits.
- Margin Resilience: Wealth management and asset management margins remained at or above target ranges, supported by strong fee-based revenues and cost controls.
Ameriprise’s ability to sustain high-margin growth while investing in technology and advisor platforms provides a differentiated model, even as peer firms cite tougher recruiting and cost headwinds.
Executive Commentary
"Ameriprise delivered a strong fourth quarter to complete a very good year in 2025, reflecting the strength of our business, effective strategy, and excellent client experience... We're leveraging the strength of our businesses and capabilities to deliver good results while investing in organic growth opportunities and innovation."
Jim Cracciolo, Chairman and CEO
"We were opportunistic with a discount in the share price. And the size of the buyback brought our total capital return for the year to nearly 90%, one of our highest levels in recent years. We've also consistently maintained a healthy and resilient balance sheet."
Walter Berman, Chief Financial Officer
Strategic Positioning
1. Advisor-Led Organic Growth
AMP’s core business model centers on its advisor platform, which integrates digital advice, CRM, and practice management resources to drive client acquisition and retention. Advisor recruiting and productivity are direct levers for asset and revenue growth, with Q4 seeing the addition of 91 experienced advisors and a 1% increase in total advisor count. The firm’s reputation for advisor support and technology is a competitive differentiator, as evidenced by industry awards and record Forbes team recognitions.
2. Technology and Platform Investment
Strategic capital is flowing into AI, cloud infrastructure, and digital enhancements, particularly in the Signature Wealth platform, which enables centralized trading, automated rebalancing, and robust reporting. These investments are designed to increase advisor efficiency and deepen client relationships, while supporting scalable growth and operational resilience.
3. Balanced Capital Allocation
AMP’s capital return strategy is aggressive, with the firm returning more than 100% of operating earnings in Q4 through buybacks and dividends. Management maintains $2.1 billion in excess capital and $2.2 billion in available liquidity, supporting both shareholder payouts and ongoing investment in growth initiatives.
4. Margin and Cost Structure Discipline
Expense management remains a hallmark, with G&A growth held to 4.5% despite significant investment in technology and new product rollouts. Transformation initiatives—such as back-office automation and global resource optimization—are offsetting inflation and vendor cost increases, keeping overall expense growth in the low single digits and supporting robust margins in both wealth and asset management segments.
5. Product and Channel Diversification
Ameriprise is expanding its product suite, including new banking products, structured annuities, and an expanded ETF lineup. The firm’s bank business is positioned to absorb interest rate shifts, with a diversified investment portfolio and limited floating-rate exposure. Asset management continues to broaden its capabilities, with new active ETFs and alternative strategies gaining traction in the U.S. and EMEA.
Key Considerations
Ameriprise’s Q4 execution underscores the firm’s ability to balance aggressive shareholder returns with disciplined investment and operational efficiency. The following considerations frame the company’s strategic context as it enters 2026:
Key Considerations:
- Advisor Recruiting and Retention: Sustained advisor pipeline and high retention rates are critical to maintaining asset inflows and productivity momentum.
- Expense Transformation: Ongoing reengineering and automation will be necessary to offset inflation and tech vendor cost escalation while supporting innovation.
- Product Innovation Uptake: Early success with Signature Wealth and new banking products must translate into broader adoption and deeper client wallet share.
- Capital Deployment Flexibility: Maintaining excess capital and liquidity gives AMP optionality for opportunistic buybacks, dividends, and potential M&A or partnership moves in a consolidating industry.
Risks
Ameriprise faces several headwinds, including competitive advisor recruiting, industry consolidation, and potential interest rate declines that could impact bank and cash revenues. Further, while expense discipline has been effective, ongoing inflation and rising technology costs could pressure margins if not offset by continued transformation. Regulatory changes and macroeconomic volatility remain persistent uncertainties for both wealth and asset management businesses.
Forward Outlook
For Q1 2026, Ameriprise guided to:
- Continued strong advisor recruiting and retention, with some seasonality in flows.
- Expense growth in the low single-digit range, offset by ongoing productivity and transformation gains.
For full-year 2026, management maintained guidance:
- Capital return in the 85% to 90% range of operating earnings.
Management highlighted several factors that will shape results:
- Advisor pipeline strength and platform adoption set the tone for organic growth.
- Operational leverage and cost transformation remain priorities to protect margins.
Takeaways
Ameriprise’s Q4 results reinforce its position as a high-margin, advisor-driven platform with strong capital return discipline.
- Advisor Platform Drives Growth: Productivity gains and recruiting are translating into record flows and asset growth, reinforcing AMP’s advisor-centric strategy.
- Cost Transformation Offsets Inflation: Ongoing automation and process reengineering are keeping expense growth within targeted ranges, despite technology and wage pressures.
- Watch Advisor and Product Uptake: Future results hinge on sustaining advisor momentum and broadening adoption of new platforms and products, especially as industry competition intensifies.
Conclusion
Ameriprise exits 2025 with operational momentum, record capital return, and a scalable advisor platform. The firm’s ability to manage costs while investing in innovation positions it to weather industry shifts and macro changes. Execution on advisor recruiting, technology adoption, and product expansion will be key markers for 2026 performance.
Industry Read-Through
Ameriprise’s results signal a premium on advisor productivity, integrated technology, and capital return discipline in the wealth management and asset management sectors. The firm’s aggressive buyback and dividend policy, combined with expense containment amid significant tech investment, sets a high bar for peers. Industry consolidation, competitive recruiting, and the arms race in advisor platform capabilities are likely to intensify. Asset managers and wealth platforms must balance innovation and efficiency to maintain margins and client growth in a shifting macro and regulatory landscape.