Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) reported record adjusted EPS of $11.26 in Q1 2026, up 19%, as assets under management reached $1.7 trillion. Discover what drove the firm's best-in-class return on equity and what the Huntington Bank deal signals for its growth outlook

Key Highlights

  • Adjusted operating EPS rose 19% to a record $11.26, with adjusted operating revenues up 11% to $4.8 billion.
  • Return on equity reached 54.3%, maintaining best-in-class positioning among diversified wealth managers.
  • Total assets under management, administration, and advisement grew 12% to $1.7 trillion on net inflows and market appreciation.
  • Huntington Bank partnership will add approximately 260 advisers and $28 billion in assets to the platform in Q4 2026.
  • The board approved a 6% dividend increase, backed by $2.3 billion each in excess capital and holding company liquidity.

A Quarter Defined by Structural Earnings Power

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) entered 2026 with its most profitable quarter on record. First quarter adjusted operating earnings per diluted share climbed 19% year on year to $11.26, powered by asset growth, adviser productivity gains, and operating leverage embedded across its wealth and asset management segments. Adjusted operating revenues reached $4.8 billion, up 11%, while the pretax adjusted operating margin held at 28%.

These numbers are not simply a function of a favourable equity market. The firm's diversified earnings model, spanning fee-based advice, transactional activity, banking solutions, and institutional asset management, produced consistent revenue quality even as client behaviour turned more cautious amid macroeconomic volatility. Return on equity, on an adjusted operating basis, reached 54.3%, a figure that management described as best-in-class and that few competitors in the wealth management industry can credibly match.

Advice and Wealth Management: Fee Growth and Margin Discipline

The Advice and Wealth Management segment remained the firm's core earnings engine. Pretax adjusted operating earnings rose 20% to $951 million, with the segment margin expanding to 30.0% from 28.5% a year earlier. Revenues grew 14% to $3.2 billion, driven by wrap fee growth, annuity sales, and brokerage transactions.

Total client assets rose 12% to $1.1 trillion, and wrap assets increased 16% to $664 billion. Adviser productivity reached a new high of $1.2 million per adviser on a trailing twelve-month basis, up 10%. Transactional activity increased 10% year on year.

Client net flows were $4.2 billion for the quarter, with wrap net inflows of $6 billion. These figures were constrained by elevated adviser departures, including an acceleration of exits connected to the Comerica Bank relationship, following that bank's acquisition by Fifth Third. Management confirmed that approximately $18 billion in assets connected to Comerica advisers will fully exit by the end of the third quarter of 2026. While the flow impact is notable, the financial consequence is described as immaterial, partly owing to a $25 million make-whole payment booked in the quarter.

Cash sweep balances remained stable at $29.4 billion, while bank assets grew 6% to $25.5 billion. New portfolio purchases carried a yield of 5% at a 4.1-year duration, maintaining disciplined asset-liability management. Certificate balances declined to $7.6 billion from $8.2 billion, reflecting spread pressure in the prevailing interest rate environment.

Asset Management: Margin Strength, Outflow Improvement

Columbia Threadneedle, Ameriprise's global asset management arm, posted adjusted operating earnings of $273 million, up 13%, with a net pretax margin of 44%, comfortably above the firm's internal target range of 35% to 39%. Assets under management and advisement grew 8% to $706 billion.

Net outflows improved markedly to $5.9 billion from $18.3 billion in the prior year period, reflecting better trends across both retail and institutional channels. Gross retail sales in North America rose 26% despite market turbulence. The ETF platform surpassed $10 billion in assets, reflecting growing traction in a strategically important product category. EMEA retail flows continued to face headwinds from geopolitical volatility.

The firm is progressing on a back-office transformation expected to be substantially complete by year-end, which should further support operating leverage and drive G&A expenses toward a neutral to slightly negative trajectory in the asset management segment.

Capital Allocation: Shareholder Returns and Strategic Conviction

Capital return remained a defining feature of the quarter. Ameriprise returned $936 million, or 88% of adjusted operating earnings, to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, including 1.6 million shares bought back opportunistically as the stock's price-to-earnings multiple contracted. The board also approved a 6% quarterly dividend increase.

Excess capital stood at $2.3 billion, matching available holding company liquidity at the same level. Management characterised the current share valuation as an attractive buying opportunity, signalling continued appetite for repurchases throughout 2026.

The Huntington Bank agreement, signed during the quarter, is strategically significant. The multiyear deal follows a selection process exceeding one year, and will bring approximately 260 advisers and $28 billion in client assets onto the Ameriprise platform in the fourth quarter of 2026. Management positioned the win as evidence of growing demand among banks to outsource wealth management to specialist providers, while offsetting the Comerica-related attrition in both adviser count and assets.

The Road Ahead: Organic Growth Under Competitive Pressure

Ameriprise faces a competitive recruiting environment in which aggressive multi-year signing packages are being offered across both W-2 and franchise channels. Management stated clearly that it will not match irrational packages where payback periods are excessive and marginal profitability is limited. The firm's view is that adviser retention grounded in a strong client value proposition, integrated technology, and productive practice support delivers more durable shareholder value than volume-driven growth funded by large upfront payments.

Underlying same-store sales trends remain healthy, and adviser productivity growth continues to set records. The structural test for 2026 will be whether the combination of Huntington onboarding, continued organic growth, and asset management transformation can offset near-term flow disruption and sustain the earnings trajectory that has defined the past five years.

Durability in a Volatile Cycle

Ameriprise's Q1 2026 results reinforce the structural resilience of its integrated wealth and asset management model. Record profitability, expanding margins, and a fortified balance sheet position the firm favourably against peers navigating similar macroeconomic headwinds. Near-term flow volatility connected to the Comerica transition and a competitive adviser recruitment environment introduce variables into the organic growth calculus, but the firm's core earnings trajectory, underpinned by record adviser productivity and improving asset management fundamentals, remains intact. How effectively Ameriprise converts the Huntington opportunity and manages cost discipline through its ongoing transformation will determine whether the current valuation reflects fair value or a genuine margin of safety.