Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

Welcome to today's event. The call will begin in one minute. Welcome to the Q1 2026 earnings call. My name is JL and I will be your conference operator for today's call. At this time all participants are in a listen only mode. Later we will conduct a question and answer session. During the question and answer session, if you have a question, please press star one on your touch tone phone. As a reminder, the conference is being recorded. I'll now turn the call over to Stephanie Raby. Stephanie, you may begin.

Welcome to Ameriprise Financial's first quarter earnings call. On the call with me today are Jim Caracciolo, Chairman and CEO, and Walter Berman, Chief Financial Officer. Following their remarks, we'd be happy to take your questions. Turning to our earnings presentation materials that are available on our website, on slide two, you will see a discussion of forward-looking statements. Specifically, during the call, you'll hear references to various non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide insight into the company's operations. Reconciliation of non-GAAP numbers to their respective GAAP numbers can be found in today's materials and on our website at www.ir.ameriprise.com. Some statements that we make on this call may be forward-looking, reflecting management's expectations about future events and overall operating plans and performance. These forward-looking statements speak only as of today's date and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. A sample list of factors and risks that could cause actual results to be materially different from forward-looking statements can be found in our first quarter 2026 earnings release, our 2025 annual report to shareholders, and our 2025 10-K report. We make no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements. On slide 3, you see our GAAP financial results at the top of the page for the first quarter. Below that, you see our adjusted operating results, which management believes enhances the understanding of our business by reflecting the underlying performance of our core operations and facilitates a more meaningful trend analysis. Many of the comments that management makes on the call today will focus on adjusted operating results. And with that, I'll turn it over to Jim.

Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us. As you saw in our earnings release, Ameriprise delivered a strong start to the year, driven by our disciplined execution and the benefits of our diversified business. While the first quarter was marked by ongoing market volatility and economic uncertainty contributing to a more cautious client behavior, our value proposition continued to clearly differentiate us. Across the firm, we remained deeply engaged with clients and delivered excellent financial performance. We're focused on maintaining a high-quality, well-positioned business while continuing to invest and innovate to support deep, long-term client relationships. Our business generates consistent earnings across market cycles. Equally important, we maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation that enables Ameriprise to deliver strong value to shareholders. For the quarter, Adjusted operating revenues were up 11% to $4.8 billion. Earnings in EPS were also up double digits, with EPS up 19% to a record $11.26. And we continued to deliver best-in-class ROE, which increased to more than 54%. In addition, our assets on the management, administration, and advisement grew 12%, to $1.7 trillion driven by our client net inflows and positive markets. The consistency of these results reflect the strength of our integrated business and the benefits of our approach. Very clearly, Ameriprise is distinguished by the compelling experience we deliver to both clients and advisors. Across the firm, we remain focused on serving client needs and best interests exceptionally well. That differentiation is reflected on a consistently earning excellent client satisfaction, which continues to be 4.9 out of 5, and also by the recognition our firm receives year after year. On the advisor side, our distinctive value proposition drives sustainable practice growth, higher productivity, and recurring revenue over time. Turning to our results, total client assets grew 12% to $1.1 trillion, with WRAP assets growing 16% to $664 billion. In the quarter, we were lighter on flows based on more cautious client behavior and some lumpiness in recruiting and terminations. We ended the quarter with $6 billion of WRAP net inflows. Importantly, underlying activity was good. For the quarter, we kept clients closely engaged and delivered strong transactional activity of 10%. our cash business remains stable with nearly $30 billion in sweet balances. As you saw, our advisors again generated meaningful productivity and revenue growth, with productivity increasing another 10% in the quarter to a record $1.2 million per advisor. Our strategy remains grounded in organic growth, built, not bought. Advisors consistently value Ameriprise for the depth of our value proposition and the strength of our partnership. We continue to prioritize our core advisor team productivity, and we complement it by recruiting high-quality advisors who view us as a strategic partner supporting strong client outcomes and practice growth. Sixty-one advisors joined during the quarter and were seeing a pickup of activity in the second quarter. And in AFIG, We continue to expand this channel as a premier platform for banks and credit unions. During the quarter, we signed a multi-year agreement to become the retail investment program provider for Huntington Bank. This relationship is expected to add approximately 260 advisors and $28 billion in assets with onboarding beginning later this year. Huntington selected Ameriprise for our leadership and advice, strong culture, and capabilities. As we shared, 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 across technology, systems, and new capabilities. We're focused on clear high impact outcomes that deepen engagement, deliver relevant and actionable information, while enabling highly personalized quality experiences. In particular, we've designed our tech platform around how advisors work, not individual tools. It connects multiple capabilities like our CRM platform, e-meeting, advice insights, and practice workflows into an intelligent ecosystem enhanced with embedded AI and automation. To that end, we feel good about the progress we're making. Our focus is on using AI and intelligent automation capabilities at scale to help advisors deliver a consistent, high-quality client experience while improving how they operate day to day. In terms of investments and solutions, at the initial launch of our Signature Wealth UMA mid-last year, we're now expanding the product capabilities and seeing positive early asset movement and engagement. There is meaningful upside as we continue to expand capabilities, including the introduction of SMAs and as we broaden the strategy set over time. With regard to our bank solutions, which complement our overall offering, bank assets now exceed $25 billion. We'll continue to strengthen pledge lending. With the recent introduction of products, including HELOCs and checking accounts, we now offer a complete suite. As we reach more of our advisors and clients, we expect this will present opportunities to bring additional assets to the firm. To close out AWM, we received new recognition in the quarter. For the 2026 J.D. Power U.S. Investor Satisfaction Study, Ameriprise ranked third out of 23 firms overall, a terrific result that underscores the quality of the experience we deliver. Turning to our retirement and protection business, as advisors deliver more comprehensive advice, they are thoughtfully incorporating annuity and insurance solutions to address clients' increasingly complex needs. Sales was solid in the quarter, supported by continued demand across annuities and VUL. In addition to meeting client needs, this business continues to generate attractive margins and consistent earnings over time. But RiverSource, again, recognized as one of the most profitable insurers in the industry. Moving to asset management. Assets on the management and advisement increased 8% year-over-year to $706 billion in the quarter. Investment performance remains a strength. More than 70% of our funds are performing above the peer medium of a one, three, and five-year periods, and 85% are above the medium over 10 years. This sustained performance continues to be recognized externally. In the most recent Barron's Best Fund Family Rankings, Columbia Threadneedle placed in the top 10 across all time periods. And our U.S. fixed income team recently earned four 2026 LIPR awards. Importantly, net outflows improved significantly year over year to $5.9 billion reflecting better trends across both retail and institutional channels. Gross retail sales in North America continued to improve, up 26%, even in a volatile market environment, and we're seeing nice sales within Ameriprise from good initial sales and signature wealth. Retail flows in EMEA also improved. However, they were impacted by headwinds from the geopolitical volatility during the quarter. On the product side, we continue to advance our strategy across ETFs, SMAs, and alternatives with a clear focus on scale, consistency, and performance. Our ETF platform surpassed $10 billion in assets under management supported by a differentiated offering across North America and EMEA. In SMAs, we benefit from longstanding track records and remain a top 10 provider with continued positive flows. In alternatives, our technology and healthcare hedge fund strategies deliver strong performance and sales momentum, and we see good opportunities ahead. Consistent with our approach in wealth management, we're applying advanced analytics and technology within asset management, including in investment research where these capabilities are contributing real value. At the same time, we're transforming how we leverage our global platform. We're driving greater efficiency across the front, middle, and back office while continuing to strengthen our data foundation. We're also making good progress on back office outsourcing, with a substantial portion of the conversion expected to be completed later this year. These initiatives complement our broader efforts to streamline systems and support operating leverage over time. Now, for Ameriprise overall, Our focus is having a premium-branded client-focused business that delivers strong financial performance and attractive returns. Over the past year, we have achieved record earnings and generated best-in-class return on equity, now exceeding 54%, as I mentioned. Given this performance and our current valuation, we continue to view our shares as an attractive buying opportunity. As a result, as you know, We increased our share repurchases in the fourth quarter and continued our strong return to shareholders with 88% returned in the first quarter. And our board just approved another 6% increase in our dividend. Ameriprise is built to perform across market cycles. We're well positioned to deliver meaningful value over time, manage risk responsibly, and generate resilient performance. Before I close, I want to highlight the iconic Ameriprise reputation, which remains an important competitive advantage. We are proud to have a company that continues to be widely recognized in the marketplace for who we are and how we operate. In the minds of consumers, employees, and investors, Ameriprise has been named one of America's most trustworthy companies in 2026 by Newsweek, and from Fortune, Ameriprise is also one of America's most innovative companies for 2026, affirming our leadership in technology and driving transformational change. In closing, Ameriprise offers a differentiated combination of an excellent client and advisor value proposition, sustainable, profitable growth, and attractive capital return. With that, I'll turn it over to Walter to discuss our financials in more detail.