Welcome to the Ameriprise Financial 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I will now turn the call over to Chairman and CEO, Jim Cracchiolo.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Cracchiolo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ameriprise Financial, and I'd like to welcome you to our 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Our Corporate Secretary, Wendy Mahling, is here with me, and she will help oversee our meeting. Shortly, I'll provide an overview of our business and our record results in 2025. I'll also provide an update on our start to 2026 and why we are well-positioned to continue to deliver strong value. After our formal remarks, there will be time for shareholder questions. If you are a shareholder and have a question, you may submit a question on our online meeting site for the next 10 minutes. With that, the Inspector of Election has called a quorum, and we will proceed with the meeting, which I now call to order.
To begin, I'll introduce the directors on the Ameriprise Board who join me in seeking re-election. Robert F. Sharpe Jr., our Lead Independent Director, Dianne Neal Blixt, Glynis A. Bryan, Amy DiGeso, Liane J. Pelletier, Brian T. Shea, and Christopher J. Williams. I'd note that Edward Walter will not be standing for re-election this year due to other obligations. Ed joined our Board in 2018, and he has been an outstanding director. We appreciate his many contributions and wish him the best.
I am also pleased to formally welcome Liane Pelletier to the Ameriprise Board of Directors. We appointed Liane to the Board in November, and she is now standing for election as an Independent Director of Ameriprise. On behalf of our shareholders and all stakeholders of Ameriprise, I would like to recognize our directors for their ongoing support and dedication. I would also like to acknowledge our executive leadership team. Their commitment, contributions, and collaboration has helped Ameriprise continue to excel as a world-class firm. Now, Wendy will outline the formal aspects of our meeting, the statement of order of business, the proposals being submitted to shareholders, and the opening and closing of polls. Wendy?
Thank you, Jim. Our Board of Directors set March 2nd, 2026, as the record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at this annual meeting. Ms. Heather Obi from The Carideo Group will serve as Inspector of Elections. Ms. Obi has taken the customary oath of office and provided it to us, and she has advised me that we have a sufficient number of shares to constitute a quorum. The following materials will be filed with the minutes of the meeting. A certified list of the holders of the company's common stock as of the close of business on March 2nd, 2026, prepared by Broadridge Financial Solutions, the company's stock transfer agent and registrar.
An affidavit provided by Broadridge certifying that the notice of Internet availability of proxy materials or paper copies of the proxy materials were distributed beginning on March 20th, 2026. The notice and proxy materials disclose the date, time, and location of this meeting as well as the items to be voted on. Copies of the proxy materials have also been posted on our proxy voting site. To ensure the orderly conduct of the business of this meeting, the Board of Directors has adopted the order of business and meeting rules of conduct posted on the virtual meeting site.
On behalf of the chairman, I now declare the polls open for voting. If you are an Ameriprise Financial shareholder who wishes to vote at the meeting and have not yet done so, you may now vote on the meeting site. The polls will remain open until immediately after discussion of the proposals. If you previously returned a proxy card or voted online or by telephone and do not wish to change your vote, you do not need to vote now at this meeting. If you have not yet turned in a proxy card or wish to vote your shares in a different manner than you had indicated, you must vote online now.
Each of the following three proposals are described in the company's proxy statement dated March 20th, 2026, and is presented at this meeting by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is recommending that shareholders vote for each director nominee listed in the proxy statement, for the second proposal, and for the third proposal. The first proposal is the election of the eight director nominees listed in our proxy statement. All of our director nominees are standing for election for a one-year term, each to serve until our 2027 annual meeting.
The second proposal seeks ratification of the Audit and Risk Committee's appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026. The third and final proposal is a non-binding advisory vote to approve the compensation of the named executive officers as described in the proxy statement. The votes required for each proposal to be approved are described in our 2026 proxy materials. We will close the poll shortly, so if you wish to vote and have not done so, please vote online now.
Mr. Berry, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Lead Engagement Partner, is participating in today's meeting and available to answer any questions after the chairman's business presentation. On behalf of the Chairman, I now declare the polls closed. Mr. Chairman, the Inspector of Elections has provided a preliminary report showing that all of the management proposals presented at today's meeting, including the election of each of the eight director nominees standing for election to serve until the 2027 Annual Meeting of Shareholders have received the required number of votes to pass.
Before I turn the meeting back to our chairman, I want to remind you that certain statements made in the business presentation or in response to any questions may constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of factors that may cause actual results to differ from our expectations. Please see the risk factors in our SEC filings. You can also find reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures mentioned in our presentation to their respective GAAP measures on our website. With that, I'll turn the meeting back over to our Chairman, who will adjourn the annual meeting before beginning his business presentation and responding to shareholders' questions.
Thank you, Wendy. Before turning to our strong results, I'd like to briefly frame the operating environment, which remains dynamic and fast-paced. The U.S. economy continues to demonstrate resilience in the face of significant and ongoing uncertainty, including the uncertainty we experienced over the past year related to tariff policies and the broader trade environment. Overall, investor sentiment was positive, recognizing the spikes in volatility. Regarding interest rates, the Federal Reserve further eased short-term rates in 2025.
We've recently seen a pause given commodity price shocks and other inflationary pressures related to the war with Iran, which will be an important factor to watch. While equity markets delivered strong growth last year, conditions have been more volatile this year, though we've made up considerable ground in recent weeks. I reference this mixture of headwinds and tailwinds to reinforce that Ameriprise is well-positioned to navigate this environment. We're built for conditions like this. We lead our business and invest with confidence in a long-term view with our client relationships at the center of everything we do.
Our business makeup and consistent discipline strategy have proven effective across market and economic cycles and are supported by our excellent balance sheet and premium brand. When investor uncertainty rises, the value of trusted, high-quality financial advice and solutions rises with it. This is an advantage we work diligently to earn every day.
With that environmental context, let me turn to 2025. Simply put, 2025 was a record year for Ameriprise. We achieved all-time high for assets, earnings, and returns, and we did so against an uneven backdrop. Total assets under management, administration, and advisement grew at a double-digit pace to $1.7 trillion, the highest level in our history. Adjusted operating results also reached record levels. These outcomes reflect the strength of our client relationships, the breadth of our capabilities, and the benefits of the makeup of our firm.
Excluding unlocking, revenues grew 6% to $18.2 billion. Earnings increased to $3.9 billion with diluted earnings per share up 12% to $39.34. Our firm-wide margin of nearly 27% was excellent. Ameriprise return on equity continues to be best in class at 53.3%, up 60 basis points. These results matter because they reflect the business with strength and sustained results. Our history provides a useful perspective. Proudly, Ameriprise has served clients since 1894, more than 130 years. In 2025, we marked the 20th anniversary of our independence and listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Since 2005, we've built on our proud legacy and transformed Ameriprise into a leading, high-performing financial services firm, with our disciplined execution, excellent client value proposition, and steadfast focus on long-term value creation for clients and shareholders. In just 20 years, we took the Ameriprise Financial brand from unknown to being recognized by Time as one of America's most iconic companies, ranking in the top 50 across all industries and being the highest-ranked diversified financial services firm.
Over that same time period, Ameriprise delivered the number one total shareholder return in the S&P 500 Financials index, which we are very proud of. Our client-focused approach and comprehensive business are designed to deliver strong, consistent client experience, supported by the breadth of our capabilities and the quality and depth of our solutions. Wealth management is the core of our firm.
With our goal-based advice driving strong client outcomes, our asset management and insurance businesses complement this core by broadening the solutions we offer clients while also providing diversification, stable earnings, and important free cash flow. Together, our integrated approach enables us to serve clients exceptionally well while generating resilient long-term economics. Supported by a strong financial foundation, we consistently invest across the firm to meet client needs today and further strengthen the business for the future. These are intentional multi-year investments spanning technology, systems, and new capabilities.
Our investments are focused on delivering clear, high-impact outcomes that include deepening client engagement, providing timely, relevant, and actionable information, enabling personalized high-quality client experiences, and driving durable long-term growth and profitability. We're also continuing to innovate and expand our product solutions and further building upon our digital and award-winning service capabilities in AI, which is helping drive strong client engagement and freeing up advisor time. These investments in our integrated business continue to translate into strong client outcomes.
Ameriprise client satisfaction remains excellent. Year after year, clients rate their experience with us at 4.9 out of five, which we take great pride in and continually work to reinforce. Ameriprise was again named as a leader in overall client satisfaction and quality of advice among wealth managers in the 2025 Kiplinger Choice Awards. Just recently, Ameriprise earned high investor satisfaction scores in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Investor Satisfaction Studies, ranking third out of 23 firms, outperforming the industry average. Delivering these outcomes starts with our people.
Our advisors and employees are at the heart of the client experience we deliver every day, united by a shared commitment to serve clients with excellence. We support more than 3.5 million clients globally to help them achieve their most important financial goals. By helping clients feel confident about their financial future, we build strong, lasting relationships that in turn drive flows and asset growth for the firm. In 2025, that focus again drove meaningful results. Total retail client assets reached a record $1.2 trillion, up 13%.
We generated more than $30 billion in client inflows, including a good start for flows into our new Signature Wealth unified managed account. Ameriprise advisor productivity hit new highs at $1.1 million per advisor. Investors at many stages are choosing Ameriprise, particularly those with $500,000- $5 million in investable assets who value goal-based advice and strong relationships. This is an important growth opportunity for us as the need for outcomes-based advice expands across generations and wealth levels.
A key reason why we're making progress serving more of our target market clients is the strength of our advisor support and growth programs. We have consistently invested in our advisor value proposition and offer one of the best advisor platforms in the industry. We continue innovating to make it easier for advisors to deliver a high quality client experience and drive growth. The Ameriprise client experience is a core differentiator, allowing us to serve clients more comprehensively, consistently, and effectively.
We combine that with a powerful advisor support model that includes industry leading integrated technology and systems, a nationally recognized brand, and top-tier services to help advisors run efficient, growth-oriented practices. We've designed our technology platform around how advisors work, not individual tools. It connects multiple tools like CRM, eMeeting, Advice Insights, and additional workflows into one intelligent ecosystem enhanced with embedded AI and automation.
While others rely on fragmented systems, Ameriprise delivers a fully connected experience, one that's supported by an award-winning service organization. We are proud to again have J.D. Power recognize Ameriprise for our outstanding customer experience for phone support, marking the seventh consecutive year for advisors and the second year in a row for clients. With our premium advisor support, trusted reputation, and leading technology, advisor engagement across our firm remains excellent.
At Ameriprise, we continue to invest in and build on the strength of our advisor force, enabling advisors to drive even greater growth in their businesses. Ameriprise also continues to be a top destination of choice for advisors looking to grow, attracted by a powerful trusted brand, comprehensive capabilities, and proven support for long-term success. In addition, we're investing to expand our reach through partnerships with regional banks and credit unions, helping them to enhance their wealth management offerings by leveraging our platform and expertise.
A recent example is Huntington Bank's decision to select Ameriprise as its retail investment program provider. In just a few short years in this channel, Ameriprise is among the leading firms in the space. We're also investing in Ameriprise Bank to further expand our capabilities. We're generating good growth in our lending book, driven by our pledge business, while thoughtfully building out our broader lending and deposit capabilities over the past few years.
Last year, we launched new bank CDs to add to our cash solutions, as well as home equity loans and checking accounts that will take hold over time. The bank has grown to more than $25 billion in assets and will help us further enhance our client experience while supporting growth priorities. Complementing wealth management, our retirement protection business is an important part of our overall client offering.
These solutions offered through the Ameriprise advisors serve our client income protection needs and help us build even deeper longer-term relationships. They help provide benefits to our clients and generate good shareholder returns. In fact, the recent study showed that RiverSource is again recognized as one of the most profitable insurers.
In terms of sales, we continue to generate solid interest in our variable universal life, where we are a leader, as well as structured annuities and variable annuities without living benefits. Turning to global asset management, we have built a scaled global business that manages over $720 billion. Importantly, our teams have delivered strong, consistent investment performance over time. In Barron's 2025 Best Fund Families list, Columbia Threadneedle ranked in the top 10 across all time periods. We ended the year with 103 Columbia Threadneedle funds earning four or five stars from Morningstar. Columbia's Threadneedle fixed income team was recently recognized with four Lipper awards.
These awards help reinforce the quality of our investment research and perspectives. We believe active management plays an important role in client portfolios, particularly in a volatile and uneven operating environment like we have recently seen. These are periods where our deep research capabilities and insights add real value. To compete in a rapidly changing and competitive global marketplace, we're expanding the vehicles investors and their advisors can use to access our investment capabilities. We're also working to simplify and streamline processes, systems, and support to help mitigate fee pressure.
On the product side, we're evolving our U.S. business and investing beyond our legacy mutual funds to complement those strengths with differentiated offerings within our separately managed accounts, tax-efficient strategies, model delivery, alternatives, and ETFs. We see good opportunity to serve more of Ameriprise client needs through programs like Signature Wealth, where Columbia Threadneedle is a key partner in earning a good level of flows.
This theme of expanding access to strategies also applies to EMEA. We're launching new active ETFs in the European markets. We're also expanding our institution business globally, supported by our broad investment capabilities, strong consultant relationships, and high-quality client engagement. Our asset management business consistently generates quality returns that reflects our investments and meaningful progress in streamlining operations.
For example, we're investing in AI, where we are both utilizing enterprise investments in AI and particularly deploying it within investment research and w e're leveraging our global capabilities and outsourcing selective back-office functions to operate more efficiently. Together, these investments enhance how we serve clients, strengthen margins, and support long-term returns. Let me return to Ameriprise overall. We are well-positioned, supported by a very strong financial foundation. Through steady investment, disciplined execution, and effective capital management, we continue to deliver one of the highest shareholder returns in the industry.
Our integrated business produces consistent, strong free cash flow that we thoughtfully reinvest in business growth and return to shareholders. This is supported by our high-quality investment portfolio, strong liquidity, and excess capital position. Capital return is a core strength of Ameriprise, and we have a differentiated track record that we continue to build upon. In 2025, we increased our share repurchases opportunistically, given our share price, and raised our dividend another 8%, marking our 21st dividend increase in 20 years.
In total, we returned $3.4 billion to shareholders last year through share repurchases and dividends, up from $2.8 billion in 2024. Just last week, we announced that we are raising our dividend another 6%. As I think about Ameriprise, our disciplined capital generation and management are fundamental to who we are and central to the value we create for shareholders. Let me now turn briefly to our first quarter 2026 results, where we again delivered strong financial performance.
On an adjusted operating basis, revenue grew 11% to $4.8 billion. Earnings grew 12% to $1.1 billion. EPS was up 19% to $11.26. We further increased our best-in-class ROE to 54.3%. In terms of the business, client engagement remains high as clients draw on our personalized advice, expert investment perspective, and leading technology and broad product capabilities. While we had strong engagement and increased transactional activity, clients remained thoughtful and measured about putting new money to work amid ongoing market and economic uncertainty.
Importantly, this environment reinforces the benefits for advice, long-term planning, and trusted relationships, areas where Ameriprise is a leader. As I look ahead, what matters is the strength of the Ameriprise position and our value proposition. Building on more than a 130-year legacy, Ameriprise has earned a highly respected reputation for leadership, performance, and culture, providing a strong foundation for continued growth, resilience, and long-term value creation.
In addition to the awards I've mentioned, Ameriprise is also proud to be recognized as one of America's Best Companies 2026 by Forbes, America's Most Responsible Companies 2026 by Newsweek, the Best Managed Companies of 2025 by The Wall Street Journal, and one of America's Most Innovative Companies for 2026 by Fortune.
What matters to us is what those awards represent: consistently high client satisfaction, trusted advice, and best-in-class service delivered by a talented and committed team. At Ameriprise, we have incredible dedicated people who are committed to making a meaningful difference for our clients, our firm, and our communities. Year after year, we rank among the highest companies for employee engagement, that's across all industries. It's a core strength that's reflected in the experiences we deliver and the results we generate.
In closing, there are three themes I'd like you to take away as shareholders of Ameriprise. Ameriprise is uniquely positioned to capture a larger share of an attractive market opportunity with our clear, consistent strategy and track record of execution. We are leveraging the unique strengths and capabilities of our firm to drive durable, long-term, profitable growth across market cycles.
Our world-class client-focused culture, backed by extraordinary talent across our firm, brings our brand to life and delivers results for clients every day. I am energized about the opportunities in front of us and proud of the legacy we built. Ameriprise is in an excellent position to further differentiate ourselves as a financial services leader, delivering meaningful value and growth for all of our stakeholders. With that, let's turn to your questions. Please note that you can expect a brief pause as we review questions that may have been submitted.
We have now reached the Q&A portion of our meeting. I'm Wendy Mahling, Corporate Secretary of Ameriprise Financial, and I will read the questions and comments we received for Jim to respond to. Our first question is from a shareholder who states, "I want to thank you and your team for managing our business extremely well. In my opinion, you have done a sensational job positioning the company for long-term success and driving long-term shareholder value. I have one question, and please keep in mind that I am approaching this as a 22-year-old engineer rather than an MBA.
I have 90% of my net worth entrusted to you, so I care enormously about what happens to our company. I was a bit disappointed to see you reduce the share repurchase pace last quarter, as I believe the stock is currently trading at a rock-bottom valuation. Would you consider issuing long-term debt, perhaps 15-year bonds, to fund increased share repurchases? My thinking is that once the market comes to its senses and the stock begins trading at higher multiples alongside improved margins, the company could then conserve cash to return to a net zero debt position. I believe this strategy could significantly boost EPS over the next seven to eight years and magnify total shareholder returns." Thank you for taking my question. I truly appreciate your time.
Thank you for your question. I agree with our shares are undervalued. I clarify that we did increase our share repurchases opportunistically in the fourth quarter last year to more than 100% of adjusted operating earnings, which is among the highest return rates in the industry. We have continued with a strong pace at 88% in the first quarter, given where the stock is trading. We continue to look at this and share repurchases opportunistically. With regard to the debt raise, our business generates significant free cash flow and w e'll always look to optimize our debt appropriate with our capital structure and in terms of rating agency considerations. As you said, with our stock undervalued, we certainly see the attractive buyback opportunity that you mentioned. Again, thank you for your support.
Our next question is from a shareholder who asks, "Ameriprise currently scores 14% on Alliance Defending Freedom's Viewpoint Diversity Business Index, partially over concerns about vague terms of service. Would the company consider adopting explicit guarantees of political religious viewpoint neutrality in account closure policies?"
We are comfortable with our policies. We do not deny services to any individual based on religious or political views. We continue to serve all of our clients in their best interest.
The next question we received states, "Greetings. As a long-term shareholder, I am concerned about Ameriprise keeping due diligence with high integrity and proper returns by avoiding the Human Rights Campaign's corporate equity score of 100%, which means support of extreme LGBTQ agenda and transgender surgery for employees. Please drop HRC score to zero now and keep due diligence.
First, I'd highlight that we've always reinforced our performance and values-based culture. In terms of this survey, it is based on public information. We don't determine the methodology and did not participate.
Our final comment is from a shareholder who stated, "Just wanted to say thanks for my polo shirt, which I proudly wear on the golf course. Keep up those strong dividends."
Thank you for your support of Ameriprise. As you well know, we continue to increase our dividends. Since becoming a public company 20 years ago, we increased our dividend 22 times, and that includes our most recent increase raised last week. We feel very good about the position of the company and the opportunities before us. Again, thank you for all your support. With that, we've now reached the end of our meeting. On behalf of our Board of Directors and all of us at Ameriprise, thank you again for listening to our annual meeting and for all your support of our firm.
This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining. Have a pleasant day.