December 2021
- Opinion
- Rear Window
Heads did roll: Rear Window’s 2021 in review
A year that started in court has had plenty of victims, some unlikely saviours, and the greatest boondoggle ever.
- Joe Aston
June 2021
Former Bendigo Bank boss heads to AMP board
Former Bendigo and Adelaide Bank CEO Mike Hirst has joined the board of AMP, restoring the wealth management group’s governing body to a full eight-member board.
- Michael Roddan
May 2021
Director overboard at AMP advice transformation project
Around the time shareholders peppered AMP’s board with questions, the financial conglomerate abruptly jettisoned advice transformation director Jill Hopkins.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Investment banking
What Debra Hazelton didn’t tell AMP shareholders
Investors have been left in the dark as the chairman refuses to disclose what prompted the company’s latest strategic swerve.
- Karen Maley
April 2021
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Sorry doesn’t come easy at AMP
AMP chairman Debra Hazelton didn’t shy away from tough questions at the company’s annual general meeting, but her attempt to paint AMP as a victim of circumstances jarred.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
AMP’s second-best demerger no silver bullet
AMP’s plan to demerge its private capital markets business looks rushed and doesn’t solve some of the big challenges facing the business.
- Updated
- James Thomson
AMP chair’s bold plan to hold off rival
Debra Hazelton has struck a bold plan to retain control over a $5 billion property fund, one of the crown jewels of the AMP Capital platform, and stave off its takeover by rival Dexus.
- Updated
- Nick Lenaghan
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
AMP’s Alexis George joins an elite club
There is no tougher job in Australian business than turning around AMP. The board has turned to a proven executive from a working class background.
- Tony Boyd
March 2021
AMP shareholder revolt dooms De Ferrari
After the market and Francesco De Ferrari himself were blindsided by news of his impending departure, it has emerged that shareholders frustrated at the slow pace of the turnaround have been pushing for more dramatic change.
- Michael Roddan
- Opinion
- Investment banking
AMP shareholders want more detail on Ares deal
Investors gave a tentative cheer when the wealth manager announced a spin-off its private markets business, but there are still some big questions to be answered.
- Karen Maley
February 2021
AMP break-up rolls on with Capital sale to Ares
AMP has inked a $1.35 billion deal with US asset manager Ares Management to hive off 60 per cent of AMP Capital’s unlisted markets businesses.
- Updated
- Michael Roddan
AMP fights on all fronts as Ares retracts $6b bid
Francesco De Ferrari will slash customer super fees, freeze staff wages and cut costs after finding the company was unable to divorce its underperforming businesses.
- Michael Roddan and Aleks Vickovich
September 2020
AMP's buyback back in the spotlight
Given recent history, investors are sceptical AMP's $200 million buyback will actually eventuate.
- Tom Richardson
- Opinion
- Managed funds
The value destruction at AMP is only just beginning
The Debra Hazelton-led AMP board risks a major exodus of key talent after publicly putting the wealth management giant's businesses on the block.
- Karen Maley
'It's too late now': why AMP missed the boat
The wealth management firm is continuing its track record of poorly timed or ill-thought strategic decisions with new chairman Debra Hazelton's portfolio review, according to East 72's Andrew Brown.
- Michael Roddan and Jonathan Shapiro
AMP's fall is a bad day for Australian icons
A reverend, a businessman and a wool trader walk into a bar. AMP's history is inextricable with that of modern Australia, but has fallen hard as it looks towards a potential break-up.
- Michael Roddan and Jonathan Shapiro
AMP 'will disappear': 171-year-old icon up for sale
Just over a week after David Murray resigned, new chairman Debra Hazelton has placed a bet each way that Francesco De Ferrari’s last-chance bid to salvage AMP may not be worth following through.
- Updated
- Michael Roddan
August 2020
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Time's up for AMP and old-school business
The resignations of David Murray, John Fraser and Boe Pahari from their positions at AMP underline the fact that a new world of corporate social and employee expectations now needs to be factored into the selection of top-tier business leaders.
- The AFR View
What we know about the new AMP chairman
While working for Japanese bank Mizuho, Debra Hazelton had a 'mandate to bring cultural change to a male-dominated, conservative way of thinking'.
- Sally Patten