During the first quarter of 2011, the company recognized a $77m, or $0.30 per share, after-tax charge related to previously disclosed legal expenses at Securities America (SAI), an independent brokerdealer subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial.
Excluding the legal expenses, first quarter 2011 operating earnings were $347m, or $1.35 per diluted share, up 54% from $226m, or $0.85 per diluted share, a year ago, driven by strength in Asset Management and Advice & Wealth Management.
Operating net revenues were $2.6bn in the first quarter of 2011, up 22% from $2.1bn a year ago, due to growth in asset-based fees resulting from the Columbia Management acquisition, market appreciation and retail client net inflows.
Return on shareholders’ equity excluding AOCI was 11.3% for the 12 months ended 31 March 2011.
Advice & Wealth Management reported pretax income of $100m for the first quarter of 2011. Segment operating earnings were $99m compared to $51m a year ago.
Asset Management reported pretax income of $107m for the first quarter of 2011. Segment operating earnings were $136m compared to $22m a year ago.
Ameriprise Financial chairman and CEO Jim Cracchiolo said they continue to benefit from their strong capital position. During the quarter we repurchased 6.5 million shares of our stock for $395m, and they increased their quarterly dividend by 5 cents per share.
