Empower’s push into personal wealth advisement has been gaining traction, with the division reporting 29% growth in average assets under administration to $86 billion in 2024 in part from “capturing rollover volume from defined contribution plans.”
Empower, the country’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper by assets, has built up a staff of 1,000 advisors in recent years to provide wealth management services to individuals, including the 19 million people on its recordkeeping platform, representing about $1.8 trillion in assets.
“At the center of Empower’s growth strategy is the delivery of financial advice to more people in new ways,” Empower CEO Edmund Murphy said in a statement. “We achieved four strong quarters of growth in 2024 because our customers, their advisors and the partners with whom we work are bringing much-needed advice to the millions of people we serve.”
Empower, owned by Winnipeg-based Great-West Lifeco, embarked on its wealth strategy with a 2020 $1 billion acquisition of Personal Capital.
In 2023, it announced the Empower Personal Wealth brand, headed by Carol Waddell. Waddell had previously been a managing director at J.P. Morgan, overseeing retirement plan services. Her division’s launch included a national marketing effort aimed at consumers.
Roger Hobby, a former Fidelity Investments executive, was named vice president and head of advisory and distribution for the division last year.
Great-West Lifeco President and CEO Paul Mahon said on an earnings call that Empower Personal Wealth brought in over $3 billion in net new assets in the fourth quarter, with rollover sales playing a significant role.
“A thriving workplace business fuels the growth of our personal wealth offering,” he said. “For the full year, net flows alone accounted for 12% asset growth in the personal wealth business, demonstrating the growing strength of the platform.”
Empower’s workplace platform reported adding 600,000 net new plan participants in 2024, increasing 3.4% year-over-year and AUA growth of 22% year-over-year.
It also, however, saw net outflows of $13.8 billion from its defined contribution assets over the course of the year as people withdrew from their retirement accounts. CEO Mahon called the withdrawals a “trend that remains consistent across the industry at this time.”
Empower as a division achieved record earnings of $973 million in 2024, up 30% from the prior year.
Great-West Lifeco, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.14 during the quarter, up 12% year-over-year, beating analysts’ expectations by 6 cents, according to Yahoo!Finance.
