AMP is ready to treat advisers like equals, says CEO

Speaking to ifa following the release of AMP’s 2023 financial results, Ms George said there was a time when the firm didn’t listen to advisers, a wrong she intends to right.

“Matt Lawler and the team have really worked hard over the last couple of years to rebuild that trust. And to be honest, I spend quite a bit of time with advisers as well and that is important,” Ms George said.

“There was a time when they weren’t listened to.”

In its financial results, AMP disclosed that sentiment towards it continued to improve with adviser satisfaction scores growing to 81 per cent from 68 per cent in 2022.

Commenting on this change in sentiment, Ms George said it comes down to “rebuilding trust and delivering what we say we’re going to do, rather than making fanciful promises”.

“It’s the little stuff. It’s all those things, and actually treating them like an equal.”

But despite AMP’s efforts, its advice business continued to rack up losses in 2023, seeing an underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) loss of $47 million, which is an improvement of 30.9 per cent on 2022.

The last few years have been tumultuous for AMP, but the firm has since reiterated its focus on reshaping its institutional culture, aiming to overhaul its reputation – particularly among advisers in the aftermath of the royal commission.

The appointments of Alexis George and Matt Lawler have been viewed as steps in the right direction for a company that has been hit by numerous class actions and a prevailing sense of community distrust.

The firm’s conclusion of the Buyer of Last Resort (BOLR) class action late last year cements the beginning of a new chapter, Ms George said.

“That was something that was always a difficult thing that we had to discuss with our advisers, so I think to get that behind us was a really, really important milestone and helped to build trust as well,” she said.

“It certainly helps to get that behind us and we can now focus on building the technology we need, making sure the business is stable, and exploring those other options.”

By other options, Ms George is referring to AMP’s intent to explore “alternative structures” in a bid to turn its advice business profitable.

“We have said quite openly to our advisers that we have to make this a sustainable business, and that’s clearly the priority, and losing $47 million is not sustainable for anyone. But at the same time, we understand there are a lot of changes happening out there in advice, so let’s not be blind to thinking about an alternative structure that meets the advisers’ needs and our needs,” she explained.

“We’ll continue to have those discussions and we’ll continue to seek input from advisers about what they’re looking for in the future.”

Late last year, Wealth Data confirmed that AMP Group is the largest advice licensee in Australia with 871 advisers.

Commenting on this development, and AMP’s victory over Insignia, the CEO said that while the firm, like its peers, did experience a slight reduction in adviser numbers in 2023, a shift did occur.

“For the first time, especially in the last quarter, we saw advice practices come to AMP,” Ms George said.

“And I have to say that was a real support for what Matt’s been doing in that space, we are seeing many more enquiries than clearly we have over the years proceeding.”

AMP is also focused on “revitalising” its Jigsaw offering – which has been around since 2002 – to support self-licensed advisers as the industry moves towards self-licensing and micro-licences.

Ms George said that while this offering did launch in 2002, the firm didn’t focus on it until two years ago.

“I think as there is more self-licensing, that is a real alternative for advisers to just take the services and maintain their own license, so we’ll continue to promote that and build out that proposition.”