AMP Capital Investors names new head as group posts record loss

By Ben Abbott

AMP Capital Investorshas appointed former Asia Pacific client and marketing director Stephen Dunne as managing director, following the retirement of 45-year AMP veteran Jack Ritch.

Dunne, who will take up the role in April, has been with AMP Capital Investors for 10 years and worked across a number of areas including client services and product development.

AMP chief executive Andrew Mohl says Dunne’s mandate will be to build new standards of customer service and investment performance.

Mohl says the appointment involved an international search of internal and external candidates.

He says Dunne’s appointment will also build on attempts to position the AMP business as an “investment powerhouse” of the Asia Pacific region.

Mohl says the group is sorry to lose Ritch, AMP’s longest serving employee, though he will now take on a role as a non-executive chairman of AMP Capital Investors.

The announcement coincided with the group reporting a record $5.52 billion loss for a financial institution for the 12 months to December 31, 2003, reflecting UK writedowns and losses made on the demerger with the UK operations.

This compared with the $896 million loss reported for the full year 2002, though the group’s net profit after tax for the demerged AMP entity in the full year 2003 was $619 million.

AMP Financial Services brought in $411 million over the full year 2003, compared to $324 million in 2002, while AMP Capital Investors only brought in $68 million, down on the $72 million in 2002.

AMP says the 2003 results reflect a substantial improvement in balance sheet position compared to projections in the explanatory memorandum on the group’s demerger issued to investors in October 2003.