AMP well positioned after 2003 storm

AMP Financial Services(AMPFS) - having survived a tumultuous year in 2003 - is well positioned to take advantage of an anticipated turnaround in fortune this year according to senior executives speaking in Sydney today.

The now de-merged group is promising to give competitors “a real run for their money” in 2004, according to AMPFS managing director Craig Dunn speaking at AMP’s National Conference in Sydney earlier today,

An improvement in business flows in the second quarter of 2003, which included healthy inflows into AMP’s suite ofAsgardco-developed wrap products, also puts the group in a firm position for the year ahead Dunn says.

“Net cash flows for AMP’s contemporary Australian business in the second half of the year, at $956 milion, were significantly higher than the first half figures of $522 million,” Dunn says.

“Our inflows were up by 14.5 per cent on the first half and outflows were steady. These are all positive signs that things are on the way up,” Dunn adds.

AMP Financial Planning managing director Greg Kirk says while the company brand took a bit of a “beating” last year in the main investors n the main stayed with the group and are now likely to benefit from having done so.

Kirk says investors did put a lot of pressure on planners in light of the de-merger talks and the impact on their portfolios of weak investment markets, however the healthy inflows indicate confidence has been restored.

As for planner numbers within the group Kirk says AMPFP has 1430 planners, which is down from 1470 last year and given the group took on an additional 100 planners they in fact lost around 140 planners.

“The reason for this [however] is not that we have got rid of planners, we are simply raising the bar above what the minimum expectation of the industry,” Kirk says.

Kirk says with rising customer expectations of the industry, the dealer group will be focusing on initiatives to improve customer intimacy, planner productivity and its performance culture.

“We must actively address community concerns around disclosure, the quality of advice and the need for consumer choice.

“We will also continue to embed a compliance and risk management culture within our planner network, recognising and rewarding best practice and eliminating poor practice,” Kirk says.

Kirk plans to improve planner productivity by keeping planners in front of clients, as well as using technology enhancements to build a better planner gateway.

“We will also develop and extend our Client Charter. We have engaged a major communication firm to assist in developing plain language financial plans and other customer information services,” he says.

“Whoever takes leadership in developing the right solutions across the market will succeed and we’re determined that will be AMP,” Dunn says.