The 171-year old AMP is fast becoming a soap opera, with the head of its Australian operations Alex Wade exiting for an unspecified conduct issue.
It gets worse, because Wade was appointed by AMP chief Francesco De Ferrari, joining in December 2018 to replace royal commission star and 20-year veteran Jack Regan.
Wade worked with Credit Suisse in Singapore before taking the job and knew De Ferrari well.
The company declined to comment but Wade is known to have approached De Ferrari two days ago and his resignation is effective immediately.
He will be replaced by 11-year AMP veteran Blair Vernon.
While not commenting on Vernon’s ability, it is noteworthy that De Ferrari would see the need for an Australian operations boss.
Having shed life insurance and with Boe Pahari running AMP Capital, you have to wonder how many layers of management the company really needs.
Credit Suisse is the dominant force within AMP, running up to the chair David Murray, who has served as a consultant to the firm. And it’s of course the house that De Ferrari used to work for before taking on the top job at AMP.
One of Wade’s acts in his short spell at AMP was to put the cleaners through its allied financial planners, so it can be assumed he has few friends among the 2000 advisers.
In fact it is fair to say they are sworn enemies.
AMP is also facing a class-action lawsuit brought against it by its own financial advisers.
None of this tells a pretty tale about corporate culture, which is another reason why you wonder why De Ferrari isn’t taking direct control of the shop.
This month the market will hear from Pahari, who shot to fame as head of AMP Capital after serving time with, among others, ABN Amro.
Pahari was appointed to AMP despite a workplace sexual harassment complaint in 2017. He faced complaints from one person of eight counts of sexual harassment on one night, of which five were dismissed and three had some factual basis.
He was fined $500,000 which, to you and me is a lot of money, but to Boe was just 25 per cent of his annual bonus.
De Ferrari has appeared in the press several times appealing for some sense in governing financial advice, but frankly he should get his own house in order before telling others what to do.
The news of Wade’s exit is not exactly evidence of life looking better within AMP.
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