Ameriprise Increases Variable Annuity Sales 3%

Revenue at the company's advice and wealth management unit increased 11%, to $1.6 billion, and pretax operating earnings there increased 19%, to $355 million.

The annuities unit is reporting $153 million in pretax operating earnings on $89 billion in annuity account balances, compared with $281 million in pretax operating earnings on $89 billion in annuity account balances.

Variable annuity sales increased 3%, and that helped increase variable annuity account balances 1%, to $79 billion, but limited new sales of fixed annuities and contract lapses led fixed annuity account balances to fall 7%, to $8.9 billion.

Life and health operating earnings, which include life insurance and disability insurance, increased to $60 million on $759 million in allocated capital, from $48 million on $769 million in allocated capital.

• Sales of universal life and variable universal life increased to $76 million in the latest quarter, from $72 million in the year-earlier quarter.
• Term and whole life sales held steady at $2 million.
• Disability insurance sales held steady at $1 million.

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