Industry executives cashed some big paychecks last year, driven by the bull market and record earnings and assets at their companies.
Case in point: Ameriprise chairman and chief executive James Cracchiolo got total direct compensation of $29 million, according to the company’s proxy statement filed with the SEC Friday. Cracchiolo, one of the best-paid execs in the wealth management industry, saw a 74 percent increase from the $16.7 million he hauled in during 2016.
The higher executive pay across the board was “aligned with our improved and strong financial performance,” Ameriprise said. The company’s wealth management unit saw pretax earnings increase 28 percent, driven by strong asset growth and recruiting, record wrap-fee flows, gains in advisor productivity and expense management.
Plus, Ameriprise stock produced a total return of 56 percent for the year, which “compares favorably on a relative basis,” Ameriprise said in its proxy.
Ameriprise is the first public retail brokerage firm to file a 2018 proxy covering calendar year 2017.
Raymond James Financial and TD Ameritrade reported executive pay in January for fiscal years that ended in September.
Paul Reilly, the chief executive at Raymond James, saw a 32 percent jump in total pay, to $11.1 million in fiscal 2017, up from $8.4 million the previous year.
Raymond James “achieved record annual net revenues of $6.37 billion and record net income of $636.2 million” in the last fiscal year, the proxy said.
Tim Hockey, the chief executive of TD Ameritrade, received a pay package of $7.3 million for the last fiscal year (his first as chief executive).
Other top executives enjoyed 12 percent to 20 percent increases.