In the competitive recruiting fight for financial advisor talent, Ameriprise has followed the lead of rivals that have restricted their publicly reported headcounts to a vague number. Advice & Wealth Management segment generated 65% of its adjusted operating net revenue for the period and set a record level of advisor productivity. Business growth, rising client activity and asset appreciation fueled a new high in 12-month adjusted operating net revenue per advisor at $1.06 million. That figure jumped 12% year-over-year. Asset values plus “client and advisor engagement, and a focus on positioning portfolios to meet financial planning goals across market cycles,” drove higher customer holdings, according to the firm. Total client assets climbed 7% from the year-ago period to $1.02 trillion, while net flows rose 21% to $10.3 billion and incoming advisory holdings soared 34% to $8.7 billion. The higher advisor productivity led to more compensation costs and other expenses tied to increased business, according to the firm. Adjusted operating expenses escalated 11% year over year to $1.99 billion in the first quarter. The general and administrative portion enlarged just 1% to $424 million due to “strong expense discipline, as well as continued investments in growth initiatives and volume-related expenses due to business growth,” the firm said. For the quarter, the wealth unit netted pretax adjusted operating earnings of $792 million on revenue of $2.78 billion, for a margin of 28.5%. The profit increased 4% from the same time a year ago, while revenue was up 9% and the margin slipped by 130 basis points.