Ameriprise Financial executives pushed back on reports that the firm had been offering broad-based retention packages to advisors that could cut into its profitability.
“I would just say there’s no program,” Ameriprise Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Cracchiolo told stock analysts on Thursday. “There’s a lot of noise out there from anonymous thoughts, from recruiters with their own agendas.”
Similarly, Chief Financial Officer Walter Berman rejected the idea that Ameriprise had made any significant adjustment to its recruiting and retention strategy.
“We are not making changes,” Berman said. “Our entire focus has always been on organic growth.”
But in his prepared remarks following the release of the company’s third-quarter earnings, Berman acknowledged that Ameriprise has “selectively adjusted” its recruiting offers to “reflect the continued competitive environment.”
Cracchiolo said that Ameriprise had made certain arrangements with advisors, including those who have received offers from rivals.
“We work with advisors to understand what they’re looking to do and grow, including people that may be getting offers out there,” Cracchiolo said. “We evaluate arrangements with advisors to help them achieve their objectives, whether that’s through practice, acquisition, succession strategies, liquidity, and we even make adjustments for complex teams.”
Asked specifically about retention loans, Cracchiolo spoke about how Ameriprise helps practices expand by offering them capital for succession and M&A so that financing is not entirely on the advisor.
Earlier this month, Bank of America stock analysts downgraded Ameriprise to Underperform from Buy over concerns that the departures of some large teams and the cost of retaining others could weigh on growth and squeeze profit margins. Ameriprise lost at least five teams with $12.75 billion in combined assets between May and September, according to the report, which cited publicly reported defections.
In September, for example, Rise Private Wealth Management, which managed $4.3 billion, and Fathom Advisors, which oversaw $1.3 billion, each left to start their own RIAs. Bank of America’s stock research, which credited Rise Private Wealth with over $8 billion in assets under advisement for its calculation, cited a report by Citywire about the retention bonuses.
A recruiter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told AdvisorHub that Ameriprise has offered retention bonuses structured as forgivable loans and that those awards could reach around 100% of a broker’s annual revenue. Deals had been offered selectively to teams that have been the “most noisy” about their dissatisfaction, the recruiter said.
The Bank of America report noted that Ameriprise’s loans for transition assistance and recruiting grew 25% year-over-year in 2025. The Minneapolis-based firm, which has around 10,000 employee and independent brokers, last year stopped reporting its exact headcount.
Later in the call, Evercore ISI analyst Tom Gallagher returned to what he called “the elephant in the room,” asking executives to confirm that no broad retention program was being rolled out. He also asked whether Cracchiolo’s prior comments about “irrational competition for recruiting” still held.
Cracchiolo reiterated that there was no program.
“You can write anything today and it gets published,” the CEO added. “People are trying to make hay out there in different ways.”
Overall, Ameriprise’s Advice & Wealth Management unit grew assets, revenue and earnings. Total client assets rose 8% to about $1.2 trillion. Adjusted operating net revenues increased 13% to about $3.4 billion from $2.9 billion. Pretax adjusted operating earnings rose 12% to $989 million as expenses increased 13% to $2.4 billion.
Total client net outflow of $8.5 billion, compared with an inflow of $3.4 billion a year earlier, but that reflected changes due to Fifth Third Bank’s purchase of Comerica in February as the buyer began moving advisors to its own platform.
Adjusting for the departure of Comerica, Ameriprise client net inflows were $5.3 billion for the quarter, up 56% from the prior year.
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