The key message from AMP chief executive, Francesco De Ferrari in today’s half-year results and strategy reset is that there will be fewer but more productive advisers and changes to buyer of last resort arrangements.
The AMP strategy is underpinned by a more than $1 billion investment and a capital-raising, but the most important message for AMP advisers is contained in a strategy which entails a focus on “direct to client” solutions and “reshaping aligned advice (buyback changes; fewer, more product advisers)”
This appears to confirm the manner in which AMP will focus on the most profitable elements of its advice business while leaving others with the company’s briefing materials stating 20 per cent of advice practices account for 60 per cent of revenue .
It foreshadowed scaling up employed advisers, while scaling back aligned advisers.
At the same time AMP has declared it will further localise New Zealand wealth management, exploring options to divest and together with Resolution Life create a new holding company for its life insurance businesses.
The company has said its strategy would be supported by a $1 billion to $1.3 billion program to invest in transformation in doing so it also announced a $650 million capital raising
AMP announced that it also entered a revised agreement for the sale of its life insurance business to Resolution Life entailing $2.5 billion in cash and $500 million equity interest representing about 20 per cent of Resolution Life.
It said a new Australian-domiciled holding Resolution-controlled holding company would become the owner of the Australia and New Zealand insurance businesses.
The company declared a loss attributable to shareholders for the half-year ended 30 June of $2,292 million, leaving the company an underlying profit for the half of $309 million.
AMP also announced that its chief financial officer designate, John Patrick Moorhead had decided to leave the business and that the current AMP deputy chief financial officer, James Georgeson, had been appointed in an acting capacity.
