Here is a summary of the Q3 2019 (with some variation on date endings) for banks in North America, focusing on wealth management. It includes one of the largest listed non-bank wealth firms and the world's biggest asset manager.

As the New Year gets under way it will not be long before major banks and wealth management houses begin to report their full-year results for 2019 and the fourth quarter of that year. Here’s a brief recap of the major firms’ results, including one non-bank wealth house and the world’s biggest asset manager.

JP Morgan
The group reported that net income at its wealth and asset management arm declined to $668 million in the third quarter of 2019 from $724 million a year earlier. Net revenues rose by 9 per cent over the year, however, standing at $3.568 billion. The US-listed banking giant posted a rise in non-interest expenses of $2.622 billion in its wealth and asset management arm, a rise from $2.585 billion in the third quarter of 2018. Assets under management rose by 8 per cent to stand at $2.2 trillion at the end of the quarter, driven by inflows into long-term and liquidity products, as well as by higher market levels over the reporting period.

Goldman Sachs
The Wall Street firm reported net revenues of $8.32 billion and net earnings of $1.88 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019. Net revenues were $26.59 billion and net earnings were $6.55 billion for the first nine months of 2019. Investment management net revenues included record quarterly management and other fees of $1.46 billion. Assets under supervision increased $102 billion during the quarter reaching a record $1.76 trillion. 

Net revenues in investment management were $1.67 billion for the third quarter of 2019, 2 per cent lower than the third quarter of 2018 and 5 per cent higher than the second quarter of 2019. The fall in net revenues compared with the third quarter of 2018 was due to significantly lower incentive fees. This decrease was partially offset by higher management and other fees (including the impact of the acquisition of United Capital Financial Partners, (United Capital)), reflecting higher average assets under supervision, partially offset by shifts in the mix of client assets and strategies.

Morgan Stanley
The wealth management arm delivered a pre-tax margin of 28.4 per cent; investment management net revenues increased by 17 per cent reflecting strong carried interest and higher fee revenues. AuM exceeded $500 billion. Net interest income decreased by 3 per cent compared with a year ago primarily driven by higher costs due to changes in funding mix, partially offset by growth in bank lending. Wealth management client liabilities were $86 billion at quarter-end compared with $83 billion a year ago. Other revenues increased from a year ago were driven by higher realized gains on available-for-sale securities. 

Citigroup
The bank reported a 2 per cent year-on-year rise in its private banking revenues for the third quarter of 2019, reaching $867 million. The rise was driven by higher lending and deposit volumes, as well as higher investment activity, with both new and existing clients, partially offset by spread compression. The US-listed lender gave few other results for its private banking operation in its statement. Across the Citigroup empire as a whole, it logged a Q3 net income of $4.9 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, on revenues of $18.6 billion. This compared with net income of $4.6 billion, or $1.73 per diluted share, on revenues of $18.4 billion for the third quarter in 2018.

Group revenues increased by 1 per cent from the prior-year period, including a gain on the sale (approximately $250 million) of an asset management business in Mexico in Global Consumer Banking in the third quarter of last year. When that gain is stripped out, revenues increased by 2 per cent. Group return on equity was 10.4 per cent. The bank had a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard international yardstick of a lender’s capital buffer – of 11.6 per cent.

Bank of America
The global wealth and investment management arm of Bank of America today reported an 8 per cent year-on-year rise in net income for the third quarter of 2019, standing at $1.1 billion, while revenues stood at $4.9 billion, up by 2 per cent. Non-interest costs fell slightly, down by 1 per cent to $3.413 billion. Total client balances rose by 3 per cent to stand at $2.9 trillion at the end of September 2019, powered by higher net flows and rising market levels over the reporting period. There were $5.5 billion in net inflows during the quarter. The wealth management arm logged a wider pre-tax margin for Q3, 2019, at 30 per cent, versus 29 per cent a year before.

Wells Fargo
The wealth and investment management arm of the bank, which includes the Abbot Downing business that serves ultra-high net worth clientele, booked a 22 per cent year-on-year rise in third-quarter revenues, standing at $5.141 billion. This segment reported net income in Q3 2019 of $1.28 billion, surging from $732 million a year ago and $602 million in the previous quarter. Wealth management client assets stood at $230 billion by the end of September 2019, slipping by 4 per cent from the prior year, primarily driven by net outflows. Across the bank as a whole, net income fell to $4.6 billion in Q3 from $6.0 billion a year earlier.

Northern Trust
Assets under management rose by 3 per cent year-on-year to $1.202 trillion in the three months to September 30, 2019, while assets under custody/administration rose by 7 per cent over the same period to $11.57 trillion. Wealth management trust, investment and other servicing fees rose by 4 per cent from the same three months a year ago to $415.5 million. Across the whole of the Chicago-based group, Northern Trust said Q3 net income per diluted common share was $1.69, compared with $1.58 in the third quarter of 2018 and $1.75 in the second quarter of 2019. Net income was $384.6 million, compared with $374.5 million in the prior-year quarter and $389.4 million in the prior quarter. Total consolidated trust, investment and other servicing fees came in at $975.5 million, a rise of 4 per cent from a year earlier. Such fees are the largest component of Northern Trust’s non-interest income. Net interest income, on a fully-taxable equivalent basis, rose by 2 per cent, standing at $425.3 million in Q3 this year.

BNY Mellon
Net income applicable to common shareholders fell by 7 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2019 to $1.002 billion. Investment services total revenues fell slightly; income before taxes rose by 7 per cent, helped by lower litigation costs, which improved the year-on-year comparison. Assets under custody/administration rose by 4 per cent to $35.8 trillion. 

Raymond James 
The US-listed wealth management group reported record net revenues of $2.02 billion and record net income of $265 million, or $1.86 per diluted share, for the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2019. Excluding a $19 million goodwill impairment associated with its Canadian Capital Markets business, adjusted quarterly net income was $284 million, or $2.00 per diluted share. Net revenue growth of 7 per cent over the prior year’s fiscal fourth quarter was largely attributable to higher Private Client Group assets in fee-based accounts and higher net interest income, primarily at Raymond James Bank. The 5 per cent increase in net revenues over the preceding quarter was mostly driven by sequential growth of asset management and related administrative fees, investment banking revenues and tax credit funds revenues.

In its private client group, Raymond James said it logged record quarterly net revenues of $1.38 billion, up by 6 per cent over the 2018 fiscal fourth quarter and 2 per cent over the preceding quarter. There were assets in fee-based accounts of $409.1 billion, up by 12 per cent over September 2018. 

BlackRock
The world’s largest listed asset management firm said that total AuM, at September 30, 2019, stood at $6.963 trillion, up from $6.444 trillion, up by 8 per cent. Net income fell by 8 per cent from a year ago to $1.119 billion. For the year to date, BlackRock logged net inflows of $299.9 billion.

Royal Bank of Canada
The firm reported a year-on-year rise in net income in wealth management of C$729 million ($553 million) from C$639 million, for the three months ending October 31, 2019. For the full year, net income also rose to C$2.55 billion from C$2.265 billion. The outcome was mainly driven by higher average fee-based client assets reflecting market appreciation and net sales, as well as higher net interest income driven by average volume growth at City National Bank.

Net income also included a gain on the sale of the private debt business of BlueBay (C$134 million after-tax). These factors were partially offset by increased costs in support of business growth, higher variable compensation commensurate with revenue growth and higher PCL.

CIBC
The Canadian bank reported net income for the quarter ended October 31, 2019 of C$1.193 billion, falling from C$1.268 billion. Adjusted diluted earnings per share fell to C$2.84 per share, down from C$3.0. Assets under management stood at C$252 billion at the end of the quarter, up from C$248.39 billion at end-July 2019.