AMP shares rocket on wealth platforms cashflows surge

Shares in the wealth manager jumped 18 per cent following an upbeat quarterly update.

AMP shares jumped 18 per cent to reach their highest point since December 2020. Picture: Britta Campion

AMP shares rocketed 18 per cent on Thursday after the wealth firm revealed a surge in platform inflows in the September quarter.

AMP reported $750m in net cashflows in its wealth platforms over the three months to September 30, up 76 per cent on the September quarter last year.

Flows into its North platform from independent financial advisers jumped 47 per cent to reach 36 per cent of total inflows, while pension payments grew to $516m.

Total assets under management in its platforms rose to $78.1bn, from $74.7bn a year prior.

Investors jumped on the strong flow performance, with the shares recording strong gains from the open and pushing further upward through the session. AMP shares ended trade up 17.7 per cent at $1.60, a near four-year high, as the broader sharemarket lifted 0.9 per cent to a record closing high.

Outflows in its superannuation and investments arm, excluding pension payments, slowed to $334m. Assets under management in the division jumped to $55.8bn, from $54bn in the prior quarter, due to positive investment markets.

“During the quarter, assets under management increased across Platforms, Superannuation & Investments and New Zealand, and net cashflows also improved across these businesses,” AMP chief executive Alexis George said.

“Platforms cashflows significantly increased on the prior period, while in Superannuation & Investments, outflows were almost halved, with a continued focus on our renewed member proposition and a new national advertising campaign for AMP Super.

“Our Platforms retirement solution, MyNorth Lifetime, is attracting interest from aligned and independent advisers,” Ms George said.

Morningstar analyst Shaun Ler said AMP’s update showed better-than-expected net platform inflows, as well as reduced outflows from master trusts.

“Asset growth also benefitted from strong portfolio returns, and inflows from non-AMP advisers increased. These results indicate improved client traction, and that AMP is keeping up in a commoditised platform market,” he said.

AMP also provided an update on the launch of its small business and consumer digital bank, with Ms George confirming it was on track for a public launch in the first quarter of 2025.

“While we progress towards launch of this new bank division, in our existing bank we continue to carefully manage margins through restrained loan growth, given the competitive funding environment,” Ms George said.

The update came a week after AMP completed the return of $1.1bn of capital to shareholders, via on-market share buybacks and the recommencement of dividends.

“This is an important milestone in the transformation of AMP, as we continue to simplify and grow the business,” Ms George said.

Originally published as AMP shares rocket on wealth platforms cashflows surge