The major US banks with wealth management arms have reported their Q1 figures. Here's a summary.

Here is a summary of fourth-quarter results for the first quarter of 2018 and for the whole of that year among banks and various wealth management firms around the world.

Note: These results may be subject to revision.

Goldman Sachs
It reported net revenues in investment management of $1.77 billion for the first quarter of 2018, 18 per cent higher than the first quarter of 2017 and 6 per cent higher than the fourth quarter of 2017. The increase in net revenues compared with the first quarter of 2017 was due to higher management and other fees, primarily reflecting higher average assets under supervision, as well as higher incentive fees and higher transaction revenues.

During the quarter, total assets under supervision increased $4 billion to $1.50 trillion. Long-term assets under supervision increased $9 billion, due to net inflows of $13 billion, reflecting inflows in fixed income and equity assets, partially offset by net market depreciation of $4 billion, primarily in equity assets. Liquidity products decreased $5 billion.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch
The group reported that its global wealth and investment management arm made a pre-tax profit of $1.4 billion, up 12 per cent in the first three months of this year from a year ago. Revenues at GWIM reached a record of $4.9 billion in Q1, a 6 per cent year-on-year gain, it said in a statement yesterday. The operation’s pre-tax margin was 29 per cent, up from 27 per cent year, aided by robust growth and costs management. Assets under management inflows stood at $24 billion, the third-highest on record, boosted by higher client activity and a shift from IRA brokerage accounts to managed relationships. 
Referrals to and from GWIM with other areas of the company increased by around 10 per cent on the previous quarter and 11 per cent from a year ago. The total number of wealth advisors grew 4 per cent to reach 19,276 at the end of the quarter compared to 18,538 in 1Q 2017 (includes Merrill Lynch, US Trust and Merrill Edge advisors).

Within Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, there was record quarterly revenue of $4 billion, a 5.6 per cent gain on a year ago, driven by higher asset management fees and net interest income. Client balances of $2.3 trillion rose 5 per cent on the year. Merrill Lynch Advisors’ financial advisor productivity came in at $1.36 million per experienced advisor, a rise of 3.6 per cent from the previous quarter and up 5.7 per cent on the year. Total advisor productivity increased by nearly 4.5 per cent on the quarter and year. Merrill Lynch achieved year-on-year advisor growth of 272 (or 2 per cent) for a total of 14,829 at the end of the quarter. US Trust logged revenue of $860 million, a rise of 6.5 per cent on the first quarter of last year.

Morgan Stanley
The wealth management arm of Morgan Stanley has reported first-quarter 2018 net revenues of $4.374 billion, a gain from $4.058 billion a year ago, while pre-tax income rose to $1.16 billion from $973 billion. This part of the US-headquartered group reported fee-based asset flows of $18.2 billion in Q1. Net interest income of $1.1 billion increased from $994 million a year ago driven by higher interest rates and growth in bank lending. Wealth management client liabilities were $80 billion at quarter end compared with $74 billion in the prior year quarter. A total of 15,682 wealth management representatives at Morgan Stanley produced average annualized revenue per representative of $1.1 million in the current quarter.

Citigroup
Revenues at the private banking arm rose 21 per cent year-on-year to stand at $904 million in the first three months of this year. The revenue increase was driven by growth in clients, loans, investments and deposits as well as by improved spreads on deposits. The Q1 revenue figure also rose on the quarter, up from $776 million from the last three months of 2017.

Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo’s wealth and investment management arm, which includes units such as its Abbot Downing group, reported net income of $714 million in the first three months of this year, rising 6 per cent from the fourth quarter of last year 2017 and up from $665 million a year ago. WIM revenue of $4.2 billion decreased $91 million, or 2 per cent, from the prior quarter, primarily due to lower gains on deferred compensation plan investments (offset in employee benefits expense), lower net interest income, and lower transaction revenue, partially offset by higher asset-based fees. Noninterest expense increased $44 million, or 1 per cent, from the prior quarter, primarily driven by seasonally higher personnel expenses, partially offset by lower non-personnel expense and lower deferred compensation plan expense (offset in gains on equity securities). WIM total client assets were $1.9 trillion, up 4 per cent from a year ago, driven by higher market valuations. Within wealth management, client assets were $242 billion, up 2 per cent from the prior year.

BNY Mellon
The firm logged total wealth management revenues of $318 million in the first quarter of this year, up 5 per cent from the same quarter a year ago. Asset management revenues stood at $770 million in Q1, a 16 per cent year-on-year gain. 

Assets under custody and/or administration of reached a record $33.5 trillion, up 9 per cent, reflecting higher market values, the favourable impact of a weaker dollar and net new business. Assets under management stood at $1.9 trillion, up by 8 per cent, buoyed by a weaker dollar (principally versus the British pound), higher market values and net inflows, partially offset by the divestiture of CenterSquare Investment Management and other changes.

Northern Trust
The Chicago-headquartered financial group serving businesses such as wealth managers with custody and related offerings, said wealth management AuM rose 10 per cent year-on-year to $287.4 billion as at March 31 this year, but dropped 1 per cent on the previous three-month period. Northern Trust said wealth management assets under custody rose 12 per cent year-on-year to $645.2 billion in the latest quarter.