Ameriprise CEO gets big raise to cap record revenue year

Following a year of record results for Ameriprise, CEO James Cracchiolo is poised to see his total compensation rise by 8% to $31 million.

The big raise comes for a year in which Ameriprise saw its net revenue rise by 6% to $18.2 billion and its profits by 7% to $3.9 billion. In a proxy statement proposing Cracchiolo's pay bump, Ameriprise praised the CEO for guiding the firm through "a fluid and dynamic operating and market environment to generate record financial results, reflecting overall strength of the business, ongoing expense discipline and effective capital management."

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Cracchiolo, who became CEO of Ameriprise in 2005, is one of the better-paid top executives at regional wealth management firms. Among his direct industry counterparts, the CEO to come closest is Penny Pennington of Edward Jones, who is receiving $28 million in total compensation for 2025. 

But with more than 20,000 advisors and $2.5 trillion in client assets, Edward Jones is nearly twice the size of Ameriprise. Ameriprise has stopped providing quarterly updates of how many advisors it has, but last reported a headcount of around 10,000. Its tally for assets under management, administration and advisement rose by 11% last year to hit $1.7 trillion.

READ MORE: Paul Shoukry steps into CEO-level compensation at Raymond James

Ameriprise CEO's pay is more than two times his counterpart at LPL

The $31 million Cracchiolo is up to receive for 2025 meanwhile is more than double the total compensation for the CEO of Ameriprise's fiercest rival. In a proxy statement also released this week, LPL Financial proposed paying CEO Rich Steinmeier $14.6 million for 2025. 

Although that would be a three-fold increase for the newly minted CEO — Steinmeier stepped into the job in 2024 — it's still not necessarily reflective of LPL's size. With more than 32,000 advisors and $2.4 trillion in client assets, LPL is easily the largest independent broker-dealer in U.S. wealth management.

LPL is also one of the most aggressive recruiters in the industry, often drawing prominent advisory teams from its industry rivals. Those efforts have led to a series of legal clashes with Ameriprise, which has accused LPL of being too aggressive in trying to court its recruited advisors' former clients.

Ameriprise's proxy statement makes no mention of these legal wranglings. Instead, it credits the firm's executives for recruiting "336 new, productive advisors while attracting quality novice advisors."

READ MORE: Ameriprise to lose 89 advisors, $18.5B from Comerica deal

The breakdown of compensation for Cracchiolo, other Ameriprise executives

Cracchiolo's $31 million in proposed compensation for 2025 consists of a $1.25 million base salary, $7.75 million in cash incentives and $22 million in long-term incentives. According to the proxy, Cracchiolo's compensation for 2025 will be 216 times larger than the median pay for Ameriprise employees outside of India, which was $142,997 in 2025.

The proposed increase comes after a year in which his total compensation rose by 12% to $28.75 million. 

Elsewhere in Ameriprise's C-suite, shareholders are being asked to approve: 

• A 4% increase for Chief Financial Officer Walter Berman, whose total compensation would rise to nearly $9.4 million,
• An 8% percent pay bump for William Truscott, CEO of global asset management, who would get nearly $8.68 million,
• A 5% increase for Joseph Sweeney, the president of advice and wealth management products and service delivery, who would get $6.33 million, and
• A 4% increase for Global Chief Investment Officer William Davies, who would get just over $4.3 million.

Ameriprise will vote on the compensation proposals at the firm's annual meeting on April 29.