AMP is restructuring its senior management in a series of personnel changes designed to save about $200 million a year under CEO-elect Craig Meller. The company is combining the leadership teams of  AMP Ltd and AMP Financial Services.

Current CEO, Craig Dunn, announced last week that he would step down from next January. The company also announced a 20 per cent increase in earnings fro its wealth management division, to $196 million, for the six months to June 30.

Meller said in a briefing that AMP expected the wealth management industry to double in size over the next 10 years.

“We have to change because our customers are changing and want different things from us,” he was quoted as saying. “There are a convergence of factors that are driving these change behaviours: the aftermath of the GFC (global financial crisis), digitization and mobile technology, regulation and demographic shift. The result is a more demanding customer base that is searching for more control, more simplicity, more convenience and better value,” according to online newsletter Financial Observer.

As part of the changes, AMP will increase its targeted investment in next generation advice models, new digital and mobile platforms, and, within its products and services, new retirement and insurance products. “Distribution in wealth management will no longer be face-to-face or direct, it will be both, and this will require targeted investment in new capabilities and solutions to maintain and improve our relevance and accessibility for customers,” Meller said. “These initiatives will be funded out of our annual product spend.”

The restructure is not expected to impact AMP Capital.