to $1.2 trillion and RAP assets increased 12% to $729 billion driven by solid organic growth, strong advisor productivity, and equity market appreciation. Excluding Comerica, client net inflows were up 56% versus last year to $5.3 billion and RAP net inflows were up 38% versus last year to $6.6 billion, reflecting continued solid underlying organic activity. Our focus remains on driving advisor productivity. In the quarter, revenue per advisor grew 13% to $1.2 million, which is a continuation of a strong track record of growth from consistent strategic investment in the operating framework for AWM in total, and for our advisors. This drives sustainable value creation at the practice and company level. Specific areas of focus to drive these productivity improvements include an excellent value proposition, support and operational foundation for our advisors to consistently deliver a differentiated client experience, organic and inorganic and many more. Our advisor retention remains strong across our overall advisor base, including long-tenured advisors who have been with the firm for more than 10 years, where retention remains in the high 90% range. This focus led to strong and improving organic client flows, which increased sequentially. Our organic flow rate remained in the 4% range. The inorganic recruiting environment remains competitive, in this perceived risk-on backdrop. In the quarter, we onboarded 79 advisors with good production levels. The pipeline is good, and we have selectively adjusted our offers to reflect the continued competitive environment. We have a proven track record of effective onboarding and on the ability to increase advisor productivity. The combination of organic net new asset growth Couple with our ability to compete effectively for the right of vices will enable growth while preserving our margins as we move forward. We will continue to evaluate the facts and circumstances and assess the trade-offs between sustained profitability, flows, and associated risk. Our approach reflects disciplined stewardship of the business with a focus on sustained shareholder value creation over the long term. With regard to our financial institutions business, as Jim said, Ameriprise and Huntington Bank completed the transition of their advisors to Ameriprise on October 19. We continue to actively engage additional firms in partnership discussions and have the capacity to grow this platform further. Turning to cash, our total client cash of $81 billion was down 5% year-over-year, primarily from third-party money market funds, as well as Comerica Transition. Bank assets increased 2% year over year, and underlying cash sweep balances were stable. I note that cash sweep has been very consistent with an average account size of approximately $5,000. We benchmark our cash sweep rates regularly to ensure we remain competitive with the industry. Turning to asset management on slide 8. Financial results were strong in the quarter, with pre-tax adjusted operating earnings of 18% to $308 million and an excellent margin of 46%. Total assets under management and advisement increased to $743 billion, a 4% year-over-year from higher-ending market levels. Revenues increased 9% to $990 million, and the underlying fee rate remained consistent at approximately 48 basis points. Expenses remained well managed. General and administrative expenses were up 2% driven by higher Sellequin compensation expense and volume related expenses. For the full year, we continue to expect general and administrative expenses to be flat, excluding Sellequin and other performance fee compensation. Let's turn to slide nine. Retirement and protection solutions continue to deliver strong and consistent earnings and free cash flow generation reflecting the high quality of the business. Excluding unlocking, pre-tax adjusted operating earnings were $198 million. This reflected continued market appreciation and favorable life claims offset by impacts from variable annuity outflows and higher distribution expenses The company completed its annual actuarial assumption update in the quarter, which resulted in an unfavorable after-tax impact of $74 million, as described in the earnings release. I'll note the long-term care business is performing well and in line with our expectations, and we've included additional information in the appendix of my presentation. Turning to the balance sheet on slide 10. Balance sheet fundamentals and free cash flow generation remain strong, which is core to Ameriprise and our ability to invest for growth on a sustainable basis while also returning significant capital to shareholders. Our return on equity is best in class at 56%, excluding unlocking. Given our capital strength and share price opportunity, We accelerated our capital return to $1 billion, which was 93% of operating earnings. We have increased capital return by 24% in the year to $2.9 billion. This included repurchasing 4.9 million shares at an average price of $491 compared to 3.7 million shares at an average price of $508 in year to date 2025. We have also announced a new larger share repurchase authorization of $5.5 billion through September 30, 2028. These actions are a demonstration of our confidence we have in our continued free cash flow generation and commitment to return capital to shareholders. In summary on slide 11, Ameriprise delivered very good results in the third quarter, consistent with our longer-term trend. Over the last 12 months, revenues grew 11%, adjusted EPS increased 19%, return on equity grew 340 basis points, and we returned $3.9 billion of capital to shareholders. This was an acceleration of our very good growth trends in the past five years, with 8% compounded annual revenue growth, 17% compounded annual EPS growth, Return on Equity Improving, six percentage points, and we returned over $14 billion of capital to shareholders. Our unique model consistently generates strong overall results, profitable growth, free cash flow, and a differentiated outcome for our clients, advisors, and shareholders. In closing, We have an excellent foundation and capacity moving forward to make investments for growth, drive organic net new assets, and effectively recruit enabling consistent and sustained profitable growth. We will continue to evaluate trade-off decisions in the context of delivering on our stewardship principles, maintaining strong margins across our businesses, and commitment to sustained shareholder value creation. With that, we'll take your questions.

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you have a question, please press star 1 on your touchtone phone. If you wish to be removed from the queue, please press star 1 again. If you are using a speakerphone, you may need to pick up the handset first before pressing the numbers. Once again, if you have a question, please press star 1 on your touchtone phone. Please stand by as we compile the Q&A roster. The first question is from Sunit Kamath of Jefferies. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Great. Thanks. Good morning. I wanted to start with the comments on the wealth management recruiting and retention strategy. So it sounds like you're making some changes to your packages. Some of that's been reported in the press. So we're getting a lot of questions on it. I was just wondering if you could maybe detail How widespread are these changes? What are you doing? And just any additional information on that would be helpful.

Thanks. It's Walter. First premise, we are not making changes. Our entire focus has always been on organic growth. And the strategies that we have are focused on growing their practices and understanding the value proposition we give and how we can improve that with them. That is totally consistent the way we've managed this. That is not a change. That is a focus of the way we operate our business to grow organically and to meet our clients' needs and their needs through that investment. That investment has commitments from us and from them to continue that in a very focused way. And you've seen the results of that as it relates to our performance and implication. As it relates to that, the strategy and what has generated Okay. Okay.

So, I mean, not to pin you down, but it sounds like what you're saying is the stuff that's being reported in the press is not consistent with the approach that you're taking. Yes.

So, first of all, we're out recruiting like everyone else. And we just mentioned that we brought in another good group of advisors. Very clearly, what we really put out there is what we do for advisors. So I just read another letter last night from an advisor that joined us a year ago from another firm said they they were. Blown away about the support, the technology, the capabilities. They've never grown as quick over the last year, even through transition. And they said, we have a very large practice. And to be very honest, they said, you know, we're always concerned if we were to move what the implications to our clients and the practice would be. And said, you know, they thanked us. They thanked the leadership, the recruiting, because of what they have here. And they never thought it would be as good. So that's what we do, and we explain that, including with advisors that might be thinking as getting to sell the package. What you see out there is there's a lot of movement. We've always had movement in our industry. In terms of advisors, our retention remains very high. It's in the high 90s, very high for anyone leaving to a competitor. Now, we have retention because of succession. We have retention. that are impacted by debts. We have 10,000 somehow. So our advisor count is consistent year over year. We haven't lost in that regard. There's a lot of noise out there from anonymous sources, from recruiters with their own agendas. I don't want to comment. You can write into anything today and it gets published. We work with advisors to understand what they're looking to do and grow, including people that maybe get an office out there. We evaluate arrangements with the advisors to help them achieve their objectives, whether it's That's through practice acquisition, succession strategies, liquidity. And we even make adjustments for complex teams so it's equitable to them and their practices. And, you know, that's what we look to do to help them accomplish their objectives at the same time accomplish our firm objectives. So we work in partnership with our advisors, whether they're here and not looking to leave or that they get an offer or there's something that they think is always evaluated based on what people are saying out there, whether they deliver it or not. So whether it's going to an RIA or another firm, we look at the comparison. Some advisors don't understand. They think there's something that's rosy or whatever until you really have to explain to them and understand what the difference is, what they give up, and what it might mean to them. But people will always move, right? Just like all of you go from one firm to another at certain points in time. So from our perspective, our retention is very high. What we look at is that productivity. and as Walter said, that productivity continues to be strong. We have good margins and we maintain it. I would just say this, people say, well, five and 10 years out or whatever, there's gonna be a big payback from this. I look at it and say, great, but markets will change, environments will change, private equity may move someplace else quickly if they can't get their multiple return. Merit Prize is gonna be here, but more importantly, our advisors, are going to be highly productive and supported, and that's what we do. So I can't handle anything published in the industry, but, you know, sometimes people need to understand a little more before they write things.

So let me just add as a final point, too, because it always comes down to, so what of it? Our strategy that Jim does describe is what has generated our performance, our margins, our sustained value. It's currently doing it, and it will do that in the future. We see no denigration from that standpoint. That strategy basically does drive our sustained profitability and meet our stewardship of serving our clients, serving our advisors, and doing it in the most effective way.

Okay, that's helpful. And then on the follow-up, just on the FIG opportunity, I think that you said that you're looking at some other opportunities out there. I guess, how should we think about the size of those? Should we think about HBAN as sort of the elephant or the big whale and everything else you're looking at would likely be smaller, or are there actually opportunities of similar size? Thanks.

So, Sidney, we already have other smaller firms. Again, we don't mention every one that we bring in or are in the pipeline. Huntington is one of the largest ever done out there and I think that's going really well we're there to support and make sure that they can really capitalize on what we brought together and grow and I think there will be other opportunities and I would think that we're now very well established Huntington will show others that we can support larger activities and do that well Our capabilities are something that is differentiated out there and what we do to support advisors and help them really grow productivity but also serve their clients well. And that's what banking institutions want and that we can provide that service and consistency. So I think that this is a good opportunity and it opens the door for us. Got it. Okay. Thanks, guys.

Brennan Hawken from BMO Capital Markets is online with a question. Please go ahead.

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. So thank you for laying out the net new assets excluding Comerica. I believe you had previously said that the starting point for that asset base was $19 billion. So just wanted to confirm that. And assuming it's right, Could you help us understand what the profile of the five and change billion headwind that preceded this quarter looked like across the quarters ahead of time, just so we can get an underlying assessment of the net new exonois? Thanks.

Yeah. So, as we talked about the Co-America, yes, I can confirm on that basis, the math from that standpoint The majority of Coamerica is out from that standpoint, and we've experienced $19 billion. There will be some small portion going out, going forward. And we are, again, our organic flows, and that's where we're focused, are certainly stable and growing based on the investments that we talked about. And so from that standpoint, I feel comfortable as we look forward that we will continue to generate Good organic growth and certainly deal with the recruitment in an effective way, as we said we would do on a fact and a certain extent base to make sure we generate the right returns that make sense for us and for the right advisors coming into the network. Is that great?

Yeah, no, that helps. Thanks, Walter. And then just to follow up to Sunit's question. So, you know, when we look at the trends around your advisor loan growth over the past few years, it's been in line with most peers. despite your stated aversion to recruiting. You guys touched on and gave plenty of color around how you view the press reports, so that's super clear. But the topic of retention loans, could you maybe touch specifically on those tools and your view on those tools and whether or not maybe the attention might have drawn more FA attention to such optionality here recently?

What we do and where some of our loan build is because we help with succession. We help with practice acquisitions. So advisors actually buy other practices and we help to do that transition. So there's a liquidity for the selling advisor and that the teams taking them over can then substantially build without putting out all that cash. So we work in partnership and that's part of the big loan practices that we do. that helps both them grow, but also it's good for the company and it serves the clients well. And so that's what we look at. And then, as I said, as people are evaluating, we will make adjustments based on what they're committed to achieve, what they need to do in their practices for that liquidity or for team members. We make adjustments if they're complex practices. So it's equitable that will help them achieve what they need to achieve here. So those are the things that we work on and we do that in partnership. But what we do across 10,000 advisors is help them grow. We don't just associate and say it's up to them. We give them the technology. We work with them on their practice management to see where there's opportunity and how they can do that. We provide experts and coaching. We give them the support and practice with individual support that we provide. Those are the things that differentiate Ameriprise because we care for them and we care for what they can deliver to the clients for that satisfaction. That's what makes Ameriprise strong and that's what makes their practices strong. So you can term it whatever you want, but that's what we do and we've been successful. And so you can look at our numbers consistently. You can look at our retention consistently. You can look at our productivity consistently. But there's a lot of promises out there. You've got good markets. You've got a good environment. People get aggressive. You've got people that are trying to start new firms, consulting, sell their wares. Listen, that's the way the industry is right now. I think it'll change again. It has over the years. I've been in the business for many, many years. But Ameriprise will stay good and strong. and our advisors will be supported and highly productive.

So let me just add one thing because this is based upon understanding the advisor. This is not a commodity approach to things or just throwing money. This is understanding their objective sets, what we bring to the table for a long-term sustainable element that works for them and works for us. This is geared around their practice to ensure that their practice grows and we help them grow, building on the capabilities we already give them and them seizing upon that opportunity. So this is not done as one fits all. It is done for basically on an individual basis based on their objective sets and our objective sets and the key operator where it's strategically aligned.

Great. Thanks for taking my question.

Steven Chuback from Wolf Research is online with a question. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Chris O'Brien. I'm Steven. Thanks so much for taking our question. I wanted to ask something a little bit more broad on the competitive environment with potentially two more rate hikes coming in the next 12 months. I'm curious if this changes your outlook at all for the overall competitive environment for recruiting and if it changes your outlook as to what you expect for Some of the feedback firms that have offered some of the more aggressive packages.

Well, yeah, the answer is obviously we've looked at the environment. We certainly do multivariable analysis of what the implications are if those two hikes come. We certainly think there's a probability as you look at certainly where the Fed and others have indicated where that is. The key element to us when we build this in, it is basically a factor of it's a non-controllable. It's a benefit. It's something that you don't bank on that is going to continue because you don't control it. But I do expect in this situation of risk on, people will seize the moment to basically invest more and provide deals that are out there that go even stretch beyond the seven and eight years because they are counting on I can't get into their models. I know what we do. We do it for sustainability. Makes sense considering it. But the issue is we recognize it's a non-controllable and we have a balance between our core profitability and cash profitability.

I would just say one other thing. You know, Fed raises rates. Why are they raising rates? I think, you know, you never know what that causes and cracks in the environment and the market for that matter. We go through cycles. It's not always a good thing. It's not always going to go up. Ameriprise looks at those things, challenges what that is, and ensures that we're in good stead. I can't talk for others, but they may continue, as Walter said, to get more aggressive, or they may understand that the environment could change and there are impacts when it does.

Great, thank you so much.

And if I could just follow up.

My apologies, I will bring him back on stage. Please hold for one technical difficulty. While I restage, Tom Gallagher is online with a question from Evercore ISI, and I will bring the other person back on stage. Sorry, your line is open. Please go ahead. We were not hearing you.

Okay. Can you hear me now?

Yeah, we can hear you.

Okay. Walter, I think you mentioned you expect stable AWM margins that are on current levels. Does that contemplate customer cash balances declining? Because I know this quarter you had more moving into money market funds, which I guess pressured the balances. Would you expect that trend to continue in terms of seeing a decline? Or is there something unusual about the quarter?

The quarter is actually, normally in this quarter it drops and then it starts building up in the fourth quarter. We had Co-America coming through, which distorted that number. But again, that is the fact of it. Actually, it's stable. It's tracking exactly where we are. And so that is incorporated in. Building, as we said, growing from that standpoint and getting the benefits of certainly as we go, paydowns, maturities and other things as you go forward. So we feel quite comfortable. And with the sweet money, it is well managed and we have ALM capability that is understand from that standpoint. So there's nothing unusual.

So, Walter, you would not expect to see a decline in margin and the AUM that you make on customer cash going forward. Is that a fair?

Yes, that's a fair statement. How's that?

Okay, good. My follow-up is I know institutional flows were softer this quarter in asset management. Jim, from the way you described it, it sounded like there were some chunky reallocations there. and many more.

Thank you so much for joining us. The equity is like half of the outflow in the industry on a rate basis. Where we're a little weaker is in fixed income. We're not getting some in certain of the categories, and that's what we're focused on. But, you know, we think that we can get that, you know, over time as well. But, you know, overall, I think we're making some underlying adjustments. But the institution is what, you know, is the visibility right now. But we think that we can get some wins there.

Okay, thanks.

Stephen Chuback from Wolf Research is online with a question. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hey, we already got our questions, so thank you much.

All right. Kareem Sif of Bank of America is online with a question. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for taking my question. Just one question on the gross fee yields. I recognize that the Fed rate hike happened late in the quarter, but if I look at 2Q versus 3Q, there was a sequential decline in the gross yields across the bank certificates and others. So could you maybe speak to that a little bit?

From that standpoint, as it relates to our strategy, obviously we have invested out with the bank and everything, so that is an element that we got the benefit of the short rates, and Kenley is just our cert, and there's nothing unusual in there that I would talk about as it relates to yield at all, because it will work its way through, and that's it. And bank, are invested out. And from Stanford, you'll see some benefits. I'm not sure. We'll check what you're saying, but there is no implication to that.

Got it. Thank you.

Wilma Burtis from Raymond James and Associates, Inc. is online with a question. Please go ahead.

Hey, good morning. Was the higher share repurchases in the quarter, can you talk about how you think about that? Was it driven more by the share price in the quarter or does it represent a change in how you think about repurchases?

Thanks. So as we've always said, we have the capacity and we will evaluate as we look at opportunistic situations and that's what occurred in the quarter. We thought it was opportunistic and that's what we did and we have the capacity to do it and we did.

Thank you. And overall, this seems like a pretty good quarter. Nice beat on the EPS. Good recruiting, good flows in the wrap. And overall, just pretty normal results. Seems like Comerica, or not Comerica, Huntington Bank is a good win there. Do you guys feel pretty good about the outlook? Maybe just talk about that. Is this a good run rate type quarter? Thanks.

Yeah, we feel very good. I think, and you look at us well, If you look at the fundamentals of the business, the core activities of the business, the consistency and the productivity, all that we feel good about. Our pipeline continues to be good from a recruiting. Our retention continues to be very high. Overall, from a company perspective, we're managing investments well and investing in a lot of good areas that we're seeing good activity on. And at the same time, we manage our expense base well, so the margins will hold. And as we move forward, again, we very much focus on that consistency of what we're delivering. And you can see it in the last five years, 10 years, whatever you want to look at, and including this year. So to your point, I think you can say, based on the fundamentals of the business and what we're doing, we feel good.

Thank you very much.

Kenneth Lee from RBC Capital Markets is online with a question. Please go ahead.

Hey, good morning, and thanks for taking my question. Just one on the retirement side there. Just given the current rate outlook, higher long-term yields there, Do you see potential benefits over time in terms of the earnings generation within that business, especially as you get potentially higher new money yields? Thanks.

Yes. Listen, our RPS business is one that makes huge contributions to our other businesses. And yes, we have managed that risk return. It is an accumulation of business and We feel very comfortable with its contribution, the stability of its contribution, and the way we manage it. And yes, going forward, it will be stable. It also provides a counterbalance in cycle changes and other things. So it is exactly performing the way we designed it and can only make a contribution not just on the financial side, but also on what it contributes to our ability to meet our clients' needs in AWM and asset management.

Yeah, and the way we're investing will continue to generate good spread there and good investments that will give us a good return. Gotcha.

Very helpful there.

And just one follow-up, if I may, just in terms of the annual unlock, the actuarial review there. Any further color around some of the key policyholder behavior assumption changes that were made there? Thanks.

Yeah, what you're seeing there is currently something that is expected and the performance on the behavioral side, both in the variable annuities and insurance, is all within basically boundaries of us understanding of the behavioral aspects of it. So we feel very comfortable for how we're managing the risk return on that portfolio, the behavioral characteristics, and yes, it is an environment when you have so much appreciation in the equity marks and others. It's totally within our anticipation. So we feel very comfortable with managing that portfolio and the impact is we feel as we project out is all totally aligned. Gotcha.

Very helpful there. Thanks again.

Tom Gallagher from Evercore ISI is online with a question. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hey, thanks for the follow-up. Hey, Jim, I just wanted to come back to kind of the elephant in the room, and I know you've been asked about it already, but when we look at some of those press reports that talked about how, you know, I think the implication was there was some broad retention program being rolled out. It sounds like that's not happening from what you're saying, just to confirm that. And the other thing I've noticed is, I guess in some of the prior calls, you were talking about irrational competition for recruiting in terms of some of the packages being offered. I didn't really notice you mentioning that, this call. But just a few different questions there, but how are you thinking about that kind of broader trend. Are you still seeing that level of irrational competition for recruiting? Is it fair to say that you're managing it just one team at a time? If it makes sense, you might. You might do something about retention, but there's nothing broad that was sort of suggested in some of the articles that were out there. I just want to get a better handle on this.

Thanks. So you get a write-in from an anonymous source. I mean, people are trying to make hay out there in different ways. I would just say there's no program. And as we said, and I went through extensive detail in the last two comments, so I don't need to repeat it again. I think you can look it up. but very clear, we work with advisors, we're partnering with them, we do what's necessary to help them grow, succeed, acquisitions, liquidity, things like that. From our perspective, I would say, I'm not sure where that came from or what, but let me leave it at that. At the same time, from a recruiting perspective or a package perspective, it's still, people are, It's out there for, you know, long periods. And so maybe when people say to you, well, five or 10 years from now, you'll get, you know, we don't work that way. We're very rational, but we bring in people based on a value proposition, what we help them do and what we achieve. And we got an excellent track record for the people who come in and their productivity is strong. They actually thank us for bringing them in. They just say, we wish we would have spoke to you sooner. and contemplated it. So, you know, listen, it is what it is and environments go through this. I've been in the business for many, many years and, you know, all is not what it seems.

So, Tom, let me ask this. I review these deals when they get to certain solids and certainly I can say on a reverse re-engineering, I scratch my head. Even when you consider the benefits that we have and we provide for growth and all the things that Jim mentioned about the investment and yes, the impact of leaving and when you're dislocating and when we take a look of what you have to believe they're being offered and these are having seven, eight year paybacks on cash. I just scratched my head. Again, we know what we offer. We know the value we create. I don't get into what other people do, but I would say to the question I was asked before, with interest rates potentially going up, yeah, it's probably going to fuel it. It's non-controllable, but if people want to use that in their offering, there's a point. You do have to get paybacks, and those paybacks are a pretty extended low.

And short rates, as they go up, will come down once the inflation or economy slows a bit.

Gotcha. Thank you, guys.

We have no further questions at this time. This concludes today's conference. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.