AMP rejects peers’ reactive investment menu reductions

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

17 March 2026

AMP Limited has questioned the decisions of its platform competitors to reduce their investment fund menus as a means of reducing risk.

In a new Insights Report, AMP Group Executive, Platforms, Edwina Maloney said governance cannot eliminate all risk and that “the moves by some peers over the last 12 months to drastically reduce their fund menus” is not a trend AMP North will be signing up to.

“We have always been proactive in closing or terminating options where necessary, driven by quality considerations and our commitment to members, not by competitor actions or market trends,” she said.

“Our approach has always been to maintain a high quality, well-governed menu, and we remain committed to stability and confidence for advisers and their clients,” Maloney said.

Maloney’s comments came as AMP announced it had expanded its investment menu via the launch of the Cornerstone Private Markets Managed Portfolio in partnership with Invest Blue Group.

She wrote that as regulators and governance consider their next steps, AMP is urging them to focus on strengthening the application of existing laws and ensuring all parties in the value chain – platforms. Asset managers, advisers – take ownership of their responsibilities.

“Importantly, we must watch closely how the pendulum swings as where it lands will affect us all – particularly advisers and their clients,” Maloney said.

She said that AMP is continuing to expand its investment menu to meet the changing needs of practices and is working with leading investment managers to provide advisers and their clients with access to high quality products both in and near retirement.

The release of the AMP Insight Report focused on managed portfolios which the company said are becoming the advice vehicle of choice for more practices across Australia.

It said index managed portfolios were the most popular among advisers on the North platform over the last 12 months, along with partnered managed portfolios which saw over $2 billion in net inflows over the period.

That contributed to total partnered managed portfolio AUM growing from $12.7 billion to $16.6 billion over the course of 2025, an increase of $3.9 billion, with private markets seen as next ‘growth opportunity’ for sector innovation.

A total of 119 portfolios were added to the platform across 2025, with 25 new series launched, bringing the total to 597 portfolios on North.

Key findings:

• Record growth: North managed portfolios AUM grew for a fifth consecutive year, rising by 31.8% from $19.1 billion to $25.2 billion, as at 30 December 2025.
• Index managed portfolios ‘most popular’ among advisers on North with private markets seen as next ‘growth opportunity’ for sector innovation
• North’s Buy menu grew by an additional $1 billion to $7 billion, up from $6 billion in 2024 thanks to strong positive flows
• $25.2 billion in Total AUM: growing from $19 billion as total AUM for North managed portfolios jumped for another consecutive year
• Over 4200 advisers now on North: With a total addressable market of 12,470, one in three advisers are using North with managed portfolios representing a significant growth opportunity[1].